Silence Speaks Louder Than Words
by CleoArrow
Summary: In an accident, Beast Boy loses his voice. The team must adjust to their noisiest member now being unable to speak, and Raven realizes how his silence speaks louder to her than he ever did. BB/Rae
1. Do You Ever Stop Talking?

**Welcome! This story was chosen by your votes on a poll, and I hope you all like it!**

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"Who's hungry for some tofu?!"

Sitting on the couch and watching television, Cyborg glanced back at his best friend who was pulling out a full plate of tofu from the refrigerator. "Man, you know that stuff is disgustin'. I dunno why you think I'm gonna ever accept your offer to try the stuff."

"Uh, maybe because it's delicious?!" Beast Boy shoved the entire dish of white blocks into his mouth and spoke around it, spitting a little of his precious tofu as he went. "You might as well give up your meaty ways now, dude. Tofu is, always has, and forever will be the best food in the universe."

"Well BB, I beg to differ." Cyborg watched as Beast Boy tossed his plate in the sink and joined him on the sofa. Raven, who was sitting on one of the far end cushions, glanced at them warningly before returning to the book in her hands. Aside from her, Cyborg and Beast Boy were the only Titans in the ops room. "Anythin' with meat in it is superior to tofu. Ribs, steak, burgers… And you can't forget the seafood! That in itself is especially tasty."

Beast Boy covered his mouth, swallowing. "Dude! You're making me sick!"

"Personally, I think that aside from octopus, shark is the best food that comes from the ocean," Cyborg continued, ruffling Beast Boy's green hair and leaning back. "But you wouldn't know, because you haven't eaten shark before."

Beast Boy flailed his arms around his head. "Dude, out of like the handful of people in the world who actually eat shark, why'd you have to be one of them?!" He pretended to swoon. "I'm betrayed! My own best friend, turned against me for meat!"

Cyborg chuckled, and Raven interrupted from her place on the edge of the couch. "A lot of people actually do eat shark, Beast Boy. More than you would think."

His eyes widened. "Don't tell me you're one of _them_!"

Raven rolled her eyes, shaking her head and turning back to the novel on her lap. The green boy exhaled an enormous breath, and then glared at Cyborg. His expression only made the shape-shifter's best friend laugh harder. He clapped Beast Boy on the back. "Man, sharks reduce the human population. I like to think I'm doing the world a favor."

"Hey!" Beast Boy exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "There are only nineteen shark attacks each year, and only one death every two! It's not their fault we're invading their territory! Does it look like we were made to live in the water?! If you stayed on land, you'd be more likely to be killed by a falling coconut!"

Cyborg rubbed his large nose, grinning. "I doubt that, green bean. I've never heard any horrific stories about a coconut murdering someone. Can you imagine how unfortunate that would be to put on a gravestone? 'Killed by coconut. He should've sat under another tree'." The teenager snorted. "Man, I doubt there's been more than…," he paused a moment to think, "…five in the history of the world."

"One hundred and fifty annually," Raven muttered, not lifting her nose from the book's pages. The two male Titans stopped their quarrel for a moment to stare at her, surprised the empath was even listening. Their stillness lasted but a moment, however, before Beast Boy hopped up.

"See, Rae agrees with me!"

The dark girl stood. "I did no such thing. I simply offered facts where they were needed so to put an end to your pointless arguing."

Cyborg wasn't about to back down quite yet. "Yeah, but would you rather get killed by a shark or a coconut? Coconuts don't have teeth, and they won't cripple you for life."

"At least if I was killed by a shark, I would know what killed me! Coconuts are vicious, dude! They drop out of the sky!"

Unable to believe the conversation she was hearing, Raven rose to her feet, book still in hand, and left the room. She considered warning Robin who had passed by her towards the commons room, but her leader had already made it through the doors. Raven shrugged. There was no way she was going back there.

Beast Boy and Cyborg verbally pounced Robin the moment he stepped inside.

"Hey Robin! Psychological question!"

The spikey-haired Titan stopped in the entrance before answering slowly. "Alright…"

"Say you're out swimmin' in the ocean and you ate food without waitin' an hour or somethin', and you see a shark coming right for you," Cyborg began. "You're just a few strokes away from a shore lined with palm trees. What do you do?"

"Get out of the water?" Robin stated, his mask tilting in confusion as to where the question was leading or how it was even close to psychological.

"Exactly. Therefore the shark is more dangerous to his health."

Beast Boy would not let Cyborg best him. "But Robin just got killed by a coconut that fell from a tree while he was watching the shark! See, even Robin can't outsmart coconuts!"

"Technically the death was the shark's fault because he distracted Robin."

"Did the shark kill him? I don't think so. It's like this," Beast Boy reasoned. "Spoons don't make people fat. Bread doesn't burn toast. Sharks don't kill people. Coconuts do!"

"There are so many things wrong with all that you just said," Cyborg sighed, shaking his head. He suddenly snapped his fingers. "But you forgot to add that as Robin stumbled back from being knocked senseless by the coconut, the shark jumped out of the ocean to eat him!"

"Dude, don't be ridiculous. A shark couldn't jump that far up onto the sand."

A few hours later, Raven returned to the ops room once again to find that her teammates had not moved in inch from the couch. Beast Boy held his hands out above his head, speaking dramatically.

"…And the screen would go dark, and then the final few words of the movie would come up, reading, 'Twenty people attacked every year by sharks. One hundred and fifty killed each year by coconuts. One man in the history of the world killed by both a shark and a coconut."

Raven inhaled, and the duo turned around to notice her standing there. She glanced between Cyborg and Beast Boy, smoothing her face into one devoid of any expression and then releasing her breath. "I don't care anymore."

Beast Boy propped his elbows on the top couch cushion, folding his hands together and balancing his chin on his fingers. "So whatcha doing, Rae?"

"Currently," Raven stated, retrieving a lonely book from the kitchen countertop, "leaving."

"You sure, Raven?" Cyborg looped his arm over the back of the sofa. "We were just wrapping up the convo here."

She risked a glimpse at her friends, and they beamed back. "I'll pass."

"Your loss!" Beast Boy exclaimed, falling back to look at Cyborg. "I was just about to show Cy here this awesome new fighting move I made up! I call it-," –he paused for dramatic effect- "the To-Fu."

Tilting his head to the side, Cyborg smirked. "You mean like a play on the word Kung-Fu?"

"Uh yeah." Beast Boy lowered his arms. "I thought it was obvious?"

Before Raven could make her escape with her rescued book in hand, the doors spread apart to reveal Robin and Starfire in the entrance. Robin nodded toward the larger Titan on the couch. "Cyborg, do you have a free minute? The R-Cycle needs a tune-up, and I don't know where you keep most of your tools."

"Sure man, be right there." Standing, the robotic teenager stretched out his arms above his head and then clapped Beast Boy on the shoulder. "Sorry, B, I guess you'll have to show me your To-Fu later. But as long as it's not that gross tofu gel you always eat. That stuff's terrible." Cyborg stopped and added with a giant grin, "I'd rather eat shark anyway."

Beast Boy stuck his tongue out at his departing friend, causing Starfire to giggle. She caught Raven's elbow as the empath was trying to slip out, and pulled her effortlessly over to the sofa. "Friends! While Robin and Cyborg are making the adjustments to vehicles, might we go out flying together? The weather is glorious, and we have not spent time together in such the long while!"

She had a point. On warm and sunny days, Raven, Starfire, and Beast Boy had made it a habit to take advantage of their flight abilities. Whenever the weather was perfect, one of the three –most commonly Starfire- would find one or both of the others and take to the air, enjoying the freedom from gravity that their powers provided. Something about soaring through the skies and feeling a breeze run through their hair was indescribably relaxing, not to mention addicting. But lately there hadn't been any good opportune moments to take advantage of their flight abilities, be it because of rain, villains, or the simple reason that Robin and Cyborg would feel left out.

Beast Boy grinned. "I'm up for it!"

Two pairs of emerald green eyes widened toward Raven who folded her arms, the novel in her fingers hanging loosely at the crook of her elbow. She grunted. "Fine."

"Wondrous!" Starfire released her hold on the darker girl to float above the ground. "Let us meet on the roof in five minutes!" She flew out of the room, and Raven massaged her temples.

"Why do I get the feeling this trip will be more stressful than calming?"

Jumping up and trotting around the couch, Beast Boy quickly raided the refrigerator for a cheese stick. "Because you're probably worried Star's gonna wanna go to the mall when we're done? Seriously Rae, don't worry about it." He faced her, kicking the white door behind him shut with his foot and peeling strips of cheese off of his snack. "We haven't gone out flying in forever. It'll be fun! And if you do get stuck at the mall with Star, I'll be there to keep you company!"

"Great." Raven started for the ops room's exit, and Beast Boy followed her. He started chewing his cheese only to hear Raven muttering beneath her breath something about misery and company. He chose to ignore it and swallowed.

" _And_ if you get bored, I can always entertain you with my many knowledgeable facts about… Well, everything!"

"Haven't you talked about enough pointless things with Cyborg today?" Raven reminded as they traveled through the corridors in the direction of the roof. "I imagined the limit of mediocre words that can pass through your mouth would have been reached by now."

"Naw, I've got tons more up here!" Beast Boy tapped his head, and Raven made a questionable grunt of disbelief. The green shape-shifter crossed his arms only to accidentally fling a strip of cheese into the wall. He shrugged and kept walking. "Well, if you don't like my knowledgeable facts about everything, I've got a ton of jokes up my sleeve, just ready and waiting to be laughed at!"

The door to the roof appeared, and Raven breathed a sigh of relief. "Better tell them to Starfire then. I'm just lucky you won't be able to talk as an animal while we're flying," she muttered, pulling the handle back.

"Hey, my animal forms can talk up a great conversation just as well as my human self can! Adorable weird animal noises included!"

"Right."

Starfire wasn't waiting for them quite yet, but Raven could sense her moving throughout the hallways below. Beast Boy finished eating his cheese and then proceeded to try out various puns on Raven for the next number of minutes until the alien princess flew up to greet them.

She beamed, her scarlet hair glowing in the sunlight. "I am here, friends! Let our flight begin!" Her feet lifted off the ground.

Raven imitated her, lowering her hood to feel the light breeze flow through her locks. "Thank goodness. I don't know if I could have survived another minute of Beast Boy's jokes." She glared at him. "Do you ever stop talking?"

As if to answer her question, the shape-shifter transformed into a green hawk and cawed at her. Raven rolled her eyes, and she and Beast Boy glided after Starfire.

The three circled the tower a few times to get the feel of the air, and then Starfire suggested they head into Jump City. There were no objections, and soon the residents of the metropolis could spot the colorful trio swooping through the air. Starfire led them over the park and spun herself around in the sky, giggling. She always seemed the most at home in the sky, Raven noted.

Seeing Starfire's spin, Beast Boy squawked and performed a loop of his own. The redhead laughed, floating higher with her mane of hair flying about. Beast Boy cawed again, dipping down and then flapping up to Raven. He voiced a few chirps at her, but, already aware of what he wanted, Raven just crossed her arms. After a minute or so, the shape-shifter winged his way up to Starfire.

Raven glanced down at the park below. They were attracting onlookers. Fantastic. She didn't get the chance to make a remark, however, as a green boy suddenly dropped out of the air in front of her with a wild grin on his face. "Come on! Have some fun, Rae!"

She disregarded the gasps from below, and Beast Boy quickly switched into the form of a robin to swoop back up to her. He landed on her shoulder and chirped.

The empath crossed her arms. "I am not going to spin in the sky. You and Starfire are drawing enough attention as it is." A considerable crowd had flocked together below them, a couple bright flashes signaling that some held cameras. Starfire noticed as well, and, beaming, waved to the onlookers.

"Greetings! Is it not a glorious morning?" she exclaimed.

Raven glided over to Starfire as the park's residents shouted compliments up to her. "Let's go somewhere else. We're drawing too much attention."

"Oh, I apologize." The alien girl waved down to everyone. "We must take the leave now! It was enjoyable meeting you!"

Raven rolled her eyes yet again as their audience called back and even whistled a few times. With one more goodbye, the Titans headed further into town. Beast Boy swooped ahead and morphed into his human self for a few seconds.

"The park was-." He shifted and flapped higher before turning back into human. "-fun! We should-." Shift. Flap. Shift again. "-go back!"

"Turn into a parrot already," Raven grunted. "You're giving me a headache."

Changing one more time, Beast Boy stuck his tongue out at her before transforming into the suggested parrot and flapping alongside the two girls. "The city smells bad," he complained in a creaky voice, and then adding with a croak, "Bad! Raawk! Bad!"

Raven shook her head at him even though she silently agreed. The park was the best place to fly above Jump City since there was a considerable less amount of polluted fog in the air there. Still, they'd come out to fly, not show off with loops.

The flutter of green feathers was slowing, and with a push, he hooked his claws on Raven's lowered hood. Starfire giggled. "Friend Beast Boy, are you growing tired? Why do you not change into something else?"

He poked at the back of Raven's head with his clawed foot. "She wanted me to be a parrot. Raawk! Parrot!" he repeated unnecessarily as the green bird settled into her hood, feathers fluffing with the wind. Raven's violet eye twitched.

"Do I look like a taxi to you?"

His only response was a loud squawk of humor, and with a silent sigh, Raven looked down at the streets far below. The traffic was as slow as usual, and the streets were lined with people milling about or in the rush to get somewhere. She had to admit that she was glad to have agreed with Starfire's request to fly. The weather was perfect for a day out. A glance at the alien princess told Raven that the redhead was enjoying herself just as much as her teammate.

All of her thoughts were ripped away when the tiny weight of Beast Boy's bird form suddenly transformed into that of a human, and, caught off guard, they both dropped. Waving her hands, Raven summoned a disk to stop their fall a few feet above rush hour. She spun toward her teammate furiously, but he was pointing ahead of them.

"Raven!"

A large black truck was soaring through the air aimed straight for the highway. Raven extended her arms. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" The vehicle was heavy, but she managed to stop it from colliding with the road. Beast Boy was already flying up to Starfire by the time Raven found a place to put it down without endangering anyone.

The empath glided up to her teammates, and Starfire motioned a couple of blocks down. A car was burning and sending sparks dancing over the road, and, roaring a few feet away, an enormous stone creature picked up another vehicle to throw into the street. Drivers had already abandoned their wheels to flee before they were snatched from the lanes like the first truck had been. Starfire fired a few starbolts, and the jeep soaring toward them exploded in midair.

"We've got to distract him long enough to get civilians out of here," Raven stated as she caught the debris with her powers and sent them back to Cinderblock. Starfire and Beast Boy nodded, splitting up. Starfire flew to the ground to help the panicked people who needed the most help while Beast Boy took it upon himself to occupy Cinderblock's attention. Raven quickly snapped open her communicator.

"Robin. Cinderblock's out of jail again," she stated, training an eye on the rock monster.

Robin's face appeared on the communicator's round screen. "We just received the alert. Are Starfire and Beast Boy with you?"

"Yes."

"Alright. I'm sure you can handle it, but we'll be on our way just in case."

Cinderblock had begun moving down the main street, destroying cars, various signs, and other miscellaneous objects as he went. When he paused to break another vehicle and roar at the clouds in the sky, Beast Boy launched himself off of a roof, transforming midair into a hawk and swooping toward the colossal beast.

A flash of green flitted by Cinderblock's eye, and the rock creature shook his head in irritation. Beast Boy dove in, scratching with sharp talons at his enemy's head, and Cinderblock snapped at the bird. When Beast Boy repeated his actions, he gained Cinderblock's full attention. The stone being flung a car door at the Titan who dipped to avoid the attack.

Beast Boy continued to provoke Cinderblock, biting and clawing to keep the monster thoroughly distracted. With a frustrated bellow, Cinderblock tossed a stop sign at the green hawk, and Beast Boy stopped short as it flew into a window beside him. The pane shattered upon impact, spraying glass everywhere, and already flying back, Beast Boy's retreat was cut off abruptly when a giant fist crashed into his body.

As temporary blackness faded from his vision, he found himself pinned to the side of the building by the creature's giant hands. The Titan shifted fast. A bird to a bear to a snake, but Cinderblock's grip refused to let him go. With one thumb pressed against his throat and his other fingers tight around Beast Boy's thin body, the rock monster had the boy trapped, and it hurt. The stone fingers curled in, and sharp pain shot up through the changeling's human body, forcing a shout out of him. He swore something cracked seconds before a black-encased car slammed into Cinderblock. Raven flew by with shimmering hands as Beast Boy collapsed on the ground.

As the dark sorceress smashed another empty vehicle on top of the monster, a strong wave of panic crashed into her from behind. Cinderblock was stirring, and so she threw one more truck on top of him for good measure before turning around to find the source of the alarm.

Beast Boy's hands were around his throat, his back shuddering and jolting every few seconds, and his face was turning a strange shade of pale green as he knelt on all fours. Raven landed next to him, and the boy lifted his eyes to her, opening his mouth before wincing violently. A loud crash from Cinderblock distracted Raven again, but flashes of green light told her Starfire could handle the rock monster for now.

She stooped beside him, the boy now grasping at his chest with one fist while his other hand cradled his neck. His jaw moved again without any sound, and his eyes were wet. The answer hit her. He couldn't breathe.

Without hesitation, she pressed her hands over his throat, her gray fingertips shining with a blue-white light, and the damage she found inside was shocking. His windpipe was completely crushed. Moving her palms across his skin, Raven poured her mending magic into Beast Boy's neck. She nearly faltered when his eyelids fell closed and he tipped forward onto her lap, unconscious, but her healing light remained strong. Raven chanted her mantra, knowing she had to fix the windpipe as soon as possible so he could get some oxygen to his brain, and when the weak trembling in his body melted into the faint rise and fall of his chest, Raven could at last relax. She continued healing the problems that remained, only a little aware of the shaking adrenaline that slowly died down in her arms as she finished.

She hadn't realized how much time had passed until she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Starfire peering down at her with wide eyes. "Fr-friend Raven…?" The empath removed her fingers from Beast Boy's neck.

"He's okay," Raven said, referring to the green boy on her lap who had yet to awaken. Cyborg and Robin were standing over Starfire's shoulder, the former's stance ridged, fury seeping out of him while Robin simply listened with muted concern. In the background, Cinderblock's enormous body was stretched out across the street, strapped down with melted lampposts. Raven explained. "Cinderblock damaged his windpipe. He passed out as I was healing him."

Robin nodded. "Cyborg, go get the T-car. Let's get Beast Boy back to the tower to make sure he's alright."

The robotic Titan left without a word, hurriedly jogging down the road around Cinderblock's body as the authorities arrived. They started doing what they could to pull and push the unconscious monster into a massive transportation vehicle. While Cyborg retrieved his car, Robin and Starfire assisted Raven in lifting Beast Boy off of the empath's lap. Barely a minute passed before Cyborg returned, and the team helped guide the shape-shifter into the back of the T-car.

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A gray, dusty ceiling greeted him as Beast Boy sluggishly opened his eyes. The green Titan narrowed his eyebrows and blinked as the haze from sleep faded away. They really needed to clean up there. Not that he was going to bring it up since Robin would most likely make the shape-shifter do it if he said anything.

Beast Boy smacked his tongue on the roof of his mouth, surprised how dry it felt, and slowly sat up. The infirmary looked as it always had, with an advanced computer in one corner and a few beds scattered around the room for any others who needed medical assistance.

Wait, what was he doing in the medical bay anyway? Beast Boy frowned, unconsciously rubbing his neck. There was a fight with Cinderblock, he recalled. He'd seen a giant truck flying toward him and Raven, so he'd turned back into a human to make them fall out of the way. She hadn't looked very happy. And then…

Oh yeah, Cinderblock had totally kicked his butt.

Beast Boy noticed a slight movement from the chair by the computer system. Cyborg was looking at a few x-ray pictures on the screen. The green boy opened his mouth to call over to his friend, but all that came out of his throat was a brush of raw pain. Confused and slightly irritated, Beast Boy massaged the skin around his Adam's apple and tried again with the same result. Frustrated, he kicked at the sheets on the bed. Cyborg didn't seem to realize he was awake yet, and so Beast Boy picked up a pillow to throw it at his friend.

The cushion connected perfectly with the back of Cyborg's head. "Hey!" He turned around, rubbing the place of contact and making Beast Boy roll his eyes. There was no way that had hurt. Cyborg brightened. "Oh, hey man! You feelin' alright? Wait, what am I sayin'? You threw a pillow at me; that's a surefire sign you're fine." The robotic Titan smiled. "And if you weren't, I'd have to have a talk with Raven, but it looks like she healed whatever bruises Cinderblock might've given ya."

Beast Boy tried to speak again, but all he could do was mouth the words. Cyborg squinted at him with his human eye, and Beast Boy shook his head.

"Uh, BB? What's up, man?"

The shape-shifter gestured helplessly.

"Okay Beast Boy, quit fooling around." Cyborg folded his arms, although the sudden worried expression on his face wouldn't go away. "What's goin' on? Talk to me, man."

That's when Beast Boy realized:

He couldn't.

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 **The coconut and shark conversation is based on a true conversation my family and I had. We're a weird little bunch. I plan to focus on more humor with this fanfiction than I have with my last two, and I hope you all enjoy it.**


	2. Silence

**Wow, you guys really liked the whole shark-coconut thing way more than I expected. That's fantastic! I'm really impressed by the responses I've gotten just with the first chapter, and I hope you like this one as much as the previous.**

 **Also, for anyone who might've been alerted to an update on this chapter, I was just deleting a paragraph of random letters and words that had been brought to my attention. I'm fairly certain FanFiction just decided to mess with me on that one seeing as I never created that particular paragraph.**

 **Enjoy!**

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Raven was not happy being pulled out of her meditation by the second strongest wave of fright she'd felt all day, but her annoyance vanished when she realized the emotion was coming from the medical bay. She dropped down from her cross-legged stance onto her bed, and teleported to the infirmary door without a second more wasted.

She didn't bother knocking and walked right in to see Beast Boy sitting up in a cot and holding his neck, ears pressed back against his head. Cyborg was asking repeatedly for his best friend to tell him what was going on, but the green boy wasn't answering. The door shut behind her, and the duo paused to glance at Raven. A sliver of hope appeared within Beast Boy's fear, but it was weighed down by the occasional sting of discomfort, and he mouthed something she couldn't make out.

Raven looked first to Cyborg. "What's wrong?"

"I wish I could tell you, but BB won't say anythin' to me." Cyborg crossed his arms. "The scans I ran on him while he was out showed up as normal. I mean, you healed his windpipe, so nothin' should be causin' a problem. I called Rob and Star, and they're on their way. I was just about to call you too, but you had good enough timin' to show up when you did."

Angling her body toward the bed, Raven walked over to the side of Beast Boy's mattress. He looked up at her with enormous, pleading eyes, and Raven examined him silently for a moment before lowering her hood. "Tell me what's wrong."

He couldn't! He couldn't speak! He couldn't even force sound out of his throat! Why didn't they understand that?! Beast Boy tensed his shoulders, trembling. When Raven had entered the room, he'd thought that she would know. She'd healed him, after all, and she was super smart. So why couldn't she figure it out?! Beast Boy sucked in a breath, pointing at his neck again, but Raven's emotionless expression hardly changed. He exhaled and inhaled again, finding his chest just a little bit tighter this time.

What if his friends couldn't figure out what was going on? What if there was something seriously wrong with him? What if he could never speak again?! He loved talking! He did it every day! What if he could never tell a joke again, or ask someone to pass the salt? What if he couldn't call someone on the communicator? What if he couldn't warn someone of danger? What if-if-?

Cyborg jumped with surprise as he noticed the spiking rate on the heart monitor hooked up to Beast Boy. "Whoa, what the-?" He rotated to Beast Boy. The shape-shifter was inhaling rapidly, his fingers tight around his neck and chest heaving.

He had to talk! He had to tell them, otherwise-otherwise they'd never figure out what was wrong! He had to say _something_! Baring his teeth, Beast Boy forced out a sound through his mouth. But no words left his lips, just a rough gasp, and a sharp, ripped feeling caught in his throat. His body convulsed, trying to cough out the pain and only serving to intensify it. Lightheadedness dizzied his vision, and he had to remember to breathe. Again he attempted to spit out the ache and failed, finding himself suddenly caught in a vicious cycle.

Raven realized it first. "He's panicking. Find a paper bag." She sat down beside him on the bed as the boy struggled to slow his thoughts and his breathing.

"Ya hear that, BB? Take a breath," Cyborg called, digging through the cabinets for a brown bag. Beast Boy tried, but the air rubbed at his raw throat and he wheezed again. "It'll sting, man, but you gotta breathe!" He didn't want to. He couldn't. It hurt too much. Every gasp, as precious as it was, felt as if shards of glass had been shattered about in his throat and were cutting into the soft tissue.

Through his watering eyes, Beast Boy saw Raven place her hands on his shoulders. Pale fingers brushed over his throat, the coarse pain jumping again at the contact, and Beast Boy nearly doubled over. Raven's hands caught him before he could move, and magic leaked from her skin to sooth his. The next gulp of air he inhaled hurt half as much as his previous, and the following was a dulled ache. Raven watched with concealed relief as his air intake slowly regulated again, and her indigo eyes trained his as Beast Boy calmed. Blinking the liquid from his lashes, he tried to thank her, but the pain rose in his esophagus again. Raven's healing helped him swallow it.

Cyborg finally found what Raven had requested and handed the desired item to her. She dipped her head in thanks and had Beast Boy hold the brown paper bag. "Breathe into this." He looked at her with slight confusion, his body shaking a little from before. "Just like you see people do on television when they're hyperventilating."

With a weak nod, Beast Boy did as his friend directed, and each breath came much easier after that. The sound of the crinkling bag filled the room for a while, and then Beast Boy lifted his eyes over the paper to see Raven watching him.

She moved her lips, her words low. "You can't speak, can you?"

Relief washed over him as someone finally understood, and his shoulders sagged as his fear vanished. He didn't have to answer her as the expression on his face was response enough, and Cyborg stared at Beast Boy with an open mouth as Raven turned toward the robotic Titan.

The soft hiss of the door distracted everyone for a few seconds, and Robin and Starfire stood in the entrance, taking in the scene. Robin cleared his throat after a moment of silence. "Would anyone mind telling us what happened here? Because Cyborg's vague message telling us to 'get down here' didn't explain much."

"You're the detective. I'm sure you could figure it out," Raven retorted.

Starfire flew to Beast Boy's side to make sure he was alright, and Robin walked in a little slower as Cyborg answered. "Well… Basically I guess, uh… BB can't speak."

Robin paused, his face unreadable, and looked to Raven. "I thought you healed him."

"I did." Raven stood straight beside Beast Boy's medical bed with her arms hidden behind her cloak. "Once my healing stops, I've either fixed the problem, or done as much as my powers allow. If there is damage that remains, I can't heal it." A spike of anxiety jumped off of the green boy next to her, and Raven glanced at him. The paper bag crumpled again.

Robin frowned. "So what can we do?"

"Here." Cyborg pulled up a picture on the computer screen, and everyone crowded around it except for Beast Boy who strained to see between their bodies from his cot. "I took a few x-rays and scans of his body when we got back. Since Raven said his windpipe was what had been damaged, I was focused only on the bone damage. I never thought to look at his vocal cords." He tapped the keyboard, and a few more clips appeared. A deep sigh escaped the biggest Titan's mouth. "And there it is."

Unable to see, Beast Boy inhaled before remembering his new restriction, and then after a pause threw another pillow at the group. Somehow it managed to hit Cyborg again, but the robotic teen didn't say anything concerning it and instead turned around.

"Basically…" Cyborg's eyebrow tilted up in apology. "You've got rips in your vocal cords. I'm sorry, B, but I dunno how long it'll take them to heal, or if they even will."

The blood seemed to freeze in Beast Boy's veins, and his mouth opened slightly, ears drooping. Raven showed a deep scowl. "This is ridiculous," she muttered before disappearing into a portal. The slight surprise the teens exchanged didn't distract Beast Boy for long. He scanned over his friends. Cyborg looked sympathetic, and Starfire had her hands clasped together with a sad expression on her face while Robin was deep in thought. Fear started another spin about Beast Boy's stomach again.

Raven reappeared in the center of the medical bay in a plume of magic, carrying a small pad of paper and a pen that she tossed onto Beast Boy's bed. His instant of confusion swept away as his eyes lit up, and he grabbed the writing utensil.

"I decided that he should have some way to tell us what he was thinking instead of pummeling me with his emotions," Raven stated in a dry tone when the others looked at her.

Beast Boy thrust the paper forward, and Robin accepted it. "He wants to know if he has to leave the Titans." Robin's voice rose in surprise, and he shook his head. "No, you won't have to. Just because you can't speak doesn't mean you can't fight. We'll figure something out."

"Why don't we call Jericho?" Cyborg suggested, resting his arm on the back of his chair. "He's a Titan and he can't speak, but he's managed."

"That's a good idea."

Starfire spoke up, placing her hand on Beast Boy's shoulder. "Please, are we going to assume there is nothing we can do to restore Beast Boy's voice?" Beast Boy nodded with her, signaling he wanted to know too. Everyone faced Raven.

Her eyebrow rose. "I wouldn't know. My magic allows me to heal; I don't know the technicalities."

"Cyborg?"

Cyborg grunted at Robin, running a metallic hand over his head. "Man, I dunno. Surgery would be my best guess, but seein' how the area around his windpipe is healed, I figure it'd be really hard to get to the vocal cords unless the doctors re-broke his bones…" Beast Boy shuddered, and the suggestion was dropped. Instead the green boy motioned to Raven, hopeful curiosity warming his mind. The earlier panic had settled, and his emotions were much calmer now. The paper bag had been set aside.

"You want me to try healing you again?" the empath guessed, and Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire looked surprised when Beast Boy moved his head in agreement. Raven ignored them. Deciphering his questions wasn't difficult when she could sense emotions. "I suppose it can't hurt to try."

Pressing her lips together, Raven sat on the edge of the mattress. She placed her hands on either side of his neck, careful not to rub the wrong way, and allowed her magic to probe within. Her fingers vibrated, crackling with a white-blue color. The healing light located the damage within seconds, soothing his vocal cords. The consistent burning pain present thus far in Beast Boy's emotions cooled, and Raven restored the harm until she felt dizzy weariness tug at her arms. She released her teammate.

"Don't try speaking," the girl warned, noticing Beast Boy's shoulders rise with the intake of breath. He froze. "You won't be able to."

The cheesy look on his face expressed all he would've said had he been able to speak. Raven rolled her eyes, standing, and Robin cleared his throat. "Well?"

"I could feel some of the tears in his vocal cords mending, but apparently I can only heal so much at one time before I become too drained," the empath explained. Beast Boy pointed at the pad of paper his leader held, and Robin handed it back. "His body hasn't had long enough to heal naturally yet. If I wait too long, his vocal cords may seal incorrectly, and there won't be any way for him to speak again, but if I try to heal him once or twice every day, there might be a way for me to help restore his voice. Might," she repeated.

Robin was trying to read what Beast Boy had written down. "'What happens when I need to…?' What _is_ this word?" He could untangle codes, riddles, and make sense of the occasional slang, but Beast Boy's handwriting was Greek to him.

Raven glanced over his shoulder. "Attentions."

Of course Raven could read it. "Thank you. 'What happens when I need to get one of your attentions?'" Robin read. His mask shifted. He was lifting an eyebrow. "You could just call us on your communicator," he suggested in a matter-of-a-fact voice. "It's had video chat ever since it was made."

Beast Boy pouted, waggling his fingers so Robin would give back the paper, but Raven interrupted. "I think he means if we're in the same room."

The shape-shifter felt surprised, and his eyebrows furrowed. Raven spoke again before he could write anything. "And no, I can't read your mind. I'm just very observant. But if you're in the same room, you could just walk over and tap us on the shoulder," she instructed.

"And stop throwin' pillows," Cyborg added under a cough, but he was smirking.

Beast Boy took up a contemplative face, and then, still appearing deep in thought, motioned to Cyborg and then the wires connecting him to the heart monitor. His best friend caught on right away and began removing the cables. Robin moved toward the door.

"Alright, if we're done in here, I'm going to contact Jer-."

Beast Boy's head popped up, and his mouth moved only to cut off with a grimace that shifted to a frown. It would take a while to get used to having no voice. He waited for Cyborg to completely disconnect the heart monitor from him before transforming into an emerald raven. He flapped over to Raven, perching on her head much to the empath's annoyance, and then morphed into an equally green robin. With a flutter, he landed on the Titans' leader's shoulder.

Starfire tilted her head curiously. "What is friend Beast Boy doing?" The bird on Robin's arm opened his beak, but nothing came out. He fluffed his feathers.

With a snap of his fingers, Cyborg straightened from beside the heart monitor. "I get it! He's showin' how he can refer to us without speakin'! Like a raven for Raven, and a robin for Rob!" He grinned at Raven. "See, you're not the only one who knows how to read BB."

The corner of the dark girl's mouth twitched. Beast Boy swooped over to Starfire, landing on the floor where she knelt down to see him better. He shook his head about, a shiver running down his little robin body, and transformed into a starfish.

"Oh, I see!" Starfire exclaimed. "I am like the starfish because we both have the five limbs!"

Five questioning human eyes rotated toward her, and Beast Boy morphed back into a human just to scratch his hair. Robin inhaled, paused, bit his lip, and eventually found the question. "Star, what-what is your fifth limb?"

Starfire didn't seem to realize how much she'd shaken her friends as she pressed her fingers to the palm of her opposite hand, listing off the limbs. "My arms, my legs, and my head. We all have the five limbs, correct?"

The four listening Titans all breathed relieved sighs. "Your head isn't considered a limb, Star," Robin explained, noting her confusion.

"Oh. I apologize." The alien princess blushed.

Robin squeezed her shoulder. "Don't worry about it. It's an understandable mistake to make."

Cyborg agreed. "Yeah, I don't actually know why it's not thought of as a limb, Star." He glanced at Robin who lifted his shoulders. Raven interrupted their exchange which had flown far off the original subject.

"Anyway."

"Right." Robin waved toward Beast Boy who was standing up. "I think Beast Boy chose a starfish for you since you both have the word 'star' in your names."

"So what about me, BB?" Cyborg prompted. "Got any interesting animals that could possibly match my magnificence?"

Beast Boy heaved a big breath, tapping his chin. And then, backing up, an enormous grin stretched across his face. The smile elongated and stretched as Beast Boy's body grew and billowed out into the form of a great white shark who bared his deadly teeth at his teammate. Cyborg stared at him before falling back in the chair by the computer and laughing so hard that his human eye watered. Robin and Starfire exchanged confused glances, but Raven was pinching the bridge of her nose and Cyborg couldn't stand up. Beast Boy shifted back, beaming at them both.

The shape-shifter's grin was unmatched as he approached Cyborg, and the robotic Titan pushed at him, still snickering. "I'm the shark, am I?" He snorted. "Man, I guess that makes you a green coconut or somethin' then."

Robin felt like he should be worried. "Should I even-?"

"Don't." Raven held up her hand, still massaging the bridge of her nose. "Don't. Ask. Please."

He took her word for it and approached the exit. "I'm going to contact Jericho. Starfire, would you like to join me?"

"Yes please." She cast a worried glance at the two best friends smiling at one another and moved to the door with Robin. "I would be glad to do so." As the two left the infirmary, Starfire's voice could be heard in the hallway. "Robin, a human has four limbs, correct? Do you happen to know how many of the appendages that a shark has?"

* * *

The rest of the day flew by smoothly. Robin contacted Jericho who, aside from signing his best wishes for Beast Boy's recovery, didn't have much to say. He did suggest taking up a musical instrument to help express himself, but since the loss of Beast Boy's voice was hopefully not permanent, the mute blonde boy couldn't offer much advice. To keep his mind off of the news, or lack therefore of, Cyborg challenged Beast Boy to a round of video games that soon progressed to more than they could count. Before long the sun was starting to set, and the friends called for a break to grab some leftovers. Starfire had been playing with Silkie in the ops room for a while, and Robin would drop by every so often to check on the others. Raven had disappeared into her room after leaving the medical bay.

"So BB, whatcha wanna eat?" Cyborg called over his shoulder, digging through the refrigerator's contents. He heard no response and glanced back to see Beast Boy staring at him with a face devoid of any amusement. Cyborg ran his head along the top of his head. "Oh, I'm sorry, man. I actually forgot."

The green boy's shoulders relaxed, and Cyborg returned to the fridge. "So you want some steak or somethin'? I'm not hearin' a no." He nearly hit his forehead on a shelf in the refrigerator when a pillow collided with his back. Cyborg massaged his neck. Where did he keep getting those cushions from? At least his best friend had chosen to use the softest of projectiles. He waved behind him. "Alright, alright, I've razzed ya enough. Here, I'll make supper for ya."

Satisfied, Beast Boy turned his attention to the television. At the moment, he was watching a nature documentary, slightly disappointed it wasn't covering sharks. He shrugged. Their inside joke would only be funny for so long anyway.

The noise from the television muffled the sound of the door sliding open, and, occupied with the T.V. and food, Beast Boy and Cyborg missed Raven's entrance. The empath glanced at Starfire who waved in greeting, balancing Silkie on her other hand. Raven pulled back her hood in response before walking into the kitchen.

After a few minutes, Beast Boy found his television program interrupted when a cup of tea was placed on the table in front of the couch and him. He peered up at Raven, an eyebrow raised, and she folded her arms, careful not to spill her own drink in hand. "I read that drinking any herbal concoction –that means tea," she added upon seeing Beast Boy's blank expression. His jaw opened. "And no, Beast Boy, I still can't read your mind any more than I could a few hours ago." Raven stared down at him impatiently, her fingers drumming her own mug. "Drinking any herbal conc- tea helps prevent infection in your throat. Garlic is supposed to work as well, so I told Cyborg to make you something with that in it."

He felt doubtful, not that Raven could blame him. They'd had the occasional spat in the past about whether or not Raven drank too much tea, and he probably assumed she was getting her revenge now. The dark girl sat beside her teammate. "I researched ways that might help you get your voice back quickly." Curiosity. "Just because I think you talk too much doesn't mean I'm going to do anything to stop you from getting your voice back as soon as possible. This is probably torture for you, not being able to talk, and the last thing we need is me feeling your irritation."

A happy grin had turned up Beast Boy's mouth, and he made a heart symbol with his hands over his chest. His hands-heart pumped twice and then pointed toward her with a dumb adoring look on his face. Drinking a sip of her tea, Raven rolled her eyes at him, and Beast Boy smiled again as he picked up his pad of paper.

' _Love you too, Ravie._ '

She grunted. "I got it."

A small flicker of humor did run through her when Beast Boy stuck his tongue out after the first gulp of tea. Nevertheless, the boy continued to sip at it as he started to sketch on his paper, even if he did purposely cringe each time he caught Raven glimpsing at him. Cyborg called them over for supper just as he finished –spaghetti without meatballs and with garlic bread, just for Beast Boy- and Raven found the pad shoved under her nose. Beast Boy had a crudely drawn picture of himself as a stick person spitting out a triangular shower of tea onto another stick person beside him that Raven suspected was supposed to be her.

"I'm glad you're keeping yourself amused," she stated emotionlessly as she stood and walked toward the table with the boy tagging along behind her. Despite what her sarcasm portrayed, a happy Beast Boy was admittedly far better than a mopey, depressed shape-shifter, and her teammates no doubt believed the same.

The meal was quieter than usual, but Beast Boy made up for that by creating ways for him to be heard, whether it be through transformations into their name-animals, or tapping his glass with a handy utensil. Raven was grateful when Starfire found Robin and joined them to eat so she and Cyborg weren't the only ones bothered. Her earlier thoughts caught up to her again, and the giant grin on Beast Boy's face reminded her once more that their situation could've been much worse. Although a giant green shark flopping in the booth next to her was hard to contend with.

The five teenagers finished the meal Cyborg had graciously created for them, and Robin had risen to clear the table when the lights in the ops room flickered and then died. No one even had time to speak before a low hum filled the air, and the electricity returned. The heroes were half expecting a villain to appear on their sofa or in their television, but nothing happened.

Cyborg scratched his head. "That's weird. The backup generator just kicked in. Must be havin' a power outage." He tapped the screen inside his forearm.

Raven felt a finger poke her shoulder, and Beast Boy pointed out the window. "We're not the only ones experiencing technical difficulties," she stated dryly, and the others followed her gaze to the city across the bay. Each building was dark, and even the streetlights looked dead.

"Good thing I put in a backup generator for us just in case," Cyborg said cheerfully, clearing his plate from the table.

Gliding after him, Starfire placed her own dishes in the sink. "But should we not help the people who do not have the generator of power? And why does our own electricity not 'die out' as well?"

"I installed a generator a while back to keep the power runnin' should anythin' ever happen. Better safe than sorry," Cyborg explained. The rest of the Titans went about cleaning off the table while he washed, and Starfire picked up a dry towel, looking at him in curiosity. "I mean, backup generators are made to last usually a month. Ours might live for maybe two weeks before needin' a recharge –only since the tower's so big- but the longest power outage I've ever lived through was an hour at most. As for the city, they deal with this stuff all the time; we're just usually out fightin' some baddie when it happens. No one's got anythin' to worry about."

Two hours passed without the electricity returning, and though Starfire's last power outage was during Raven's "haunted house incident," Robin seemed the most concerned. He admitted that he was worried about any villains escaping jail and that the Titans couldn't be notified about since the phone lines were down. When the next hour didn't mark the return of Jump City's power, even Cyborg was confused albeit not entirely worried.

Robin proposed a team sweep of the city, and after a quick drive, the Titans arrived inside Jump with the T-car and the R-cycle. The five stood in a circle beside the vehicles as their leader gave out orders. "I'm guessing that there will be several traffic jams, seeing as the traffic lights are out too. Everyone focus on finding problems caused by the power outage. I'm going to the power plant outside of town to see what the issue is."

Raven looked bored. "Isn't this a little excessive?"

"She's right, man," Cyborg agreed. "We deal with villains, not takin' care of problems that will probably be solved on their own."

"As you said earlier, it's better safe than sorry. And this power outage doesn't feel right to me." Robin turned to Starfire. "Starfire and Cyborg, you to cover the west half of Jump. Beast Boy and Raven, take the east. We'll meet back at the tower at midnight." They all nodded, and, as Cyborg hopped in his car with Star flying above, Robin quickly caught Raven's arm. "I'd appreciate a quick teleportation before you go."

She dipped her head to Beast Boy. "Go ahead. I'll find you." The shape-shifter gave her two thumbs up and then transformed into an eagle, flapping up into the sky. Raven opened a portal a few steps from her and Robin as the spikey-haired teenager addressed her.

"From what I've seen, you've seemed to understand Beast Boy the best which is why I'm sticking you with him." He sat on his red motorcycle. "If anything happens, even if it's a cough that sounds like scratchy throat, I want you to bring him back to the tower."

Raven folded her arms. "I was going to say, I was surprised you let him out so soon after Cinderblock."

"Believe me, I thought about it. I don't want him to think he's useless just because he can't speak," Robin explained, snapping the strap to his helmet under his neck.

"He's not."

"Exactly, so there's no reason he should think so." The young leader watched the gliding green bird flying above buildings. "Keep an eye on him. Make sure he's not in pain, and make sure he doesn't get overtired." Raven simply looked at him, and Robin smiled. "Thank you." He drove into her portal, and then the sorceress closed it with a brush of her hand.

Raven teleported to Beast Boy's location on a rooftop where he was scanning the streets for trouble in human form. He waved at her when she walked up, and then transformed into a robin briefly before returning to normal to scratch his head.

"Robin wanted to make sure you were feeling fine," Raven stated impassively. Beast Boy held his palm out at her, indicating for her to continue. "And then I came over here to talk to you."

That wasn't all he wanted to ask, but, after a noiseless sigh, Beast Boy disregarded it and peered over the road again. They were in a fairly empty section of town at the moment, and aside from a straggler here or there, the sidewalks were mostly empty.

The night went on without any signs of trouble. In fact, the biggest problem they found was an old lady trying to cross the street at the rate of a snail and a few irritated drivers upset with the slow traffic. When their communicators read ten minutes to midnight, the pair settled on top of a building.

Raven had assumed that working in silence with someone would have been easier than a chatty partner, but Beast Boy always talked, and so now the mute air felt unbalanced. Deciding that they had time to spare, she took the opportunity to speak. "How's your throat?"

He hadn't felt any discomfort as far as she'd noticed, and Beast Boy indicated as much.

"You seem to be adjusting well."

The boy shrugged.

"That's not the way you would describe it?"

This time Beast Boy smirked a little, and he wrapped his arms around himself, shifting his weight much closer to the edge than any normal person would so near the side of the roof. The fear of falling didn't exist for him, not with his flight abilities.

"You certainly give the impression of handling it. From the team's perspective," Raven clarified.

Beast Boy smiled again briefly before morphing into a robin.

"What about Robin?" Beast Boy shifted into his human self to look at her pointedly, and Raven exhaled. "So you could hear what he'd said?" He nodded. "He's worried, with good reason." Another nod, this one surprising Raven, not that she showed it. "So what about him?"

Beast Boy glanced around, searching for any writing paper he could use to explain. His pad had been forgotten back at the tower, and no other means of communication were currently within reach. In truth, the green Titan had a lot to say. He was glad that his team was worried, but he didn't want them to think of him as useless. He wanted to assure them that he was fully functional –almost anyway- even if his throat still hurt. He wished to tell Raven that although he didn't need a babysitter, he liked that she had agreed to watch over him. He felt happy that she thought he was handling the loss of his voice well. He craved to know how long it might be before he got his voice back.

He wondered how many of his thoughts he would've said had he been able to say them. As it was, Beast Boy grinned and shook his head. Raven narrowed her eyebrows but dismissed the subject, instead summoning a portal to teleport them back to the tower.

Shaking away the chill her powers caused in his bones, Beast Boy followed Raven out of the portal and into the ops room. Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire sat on the couch, speaking. Robin motioned toward them when the duo appeared.

"Find anything of interest?"

"Nothing." Raven took a seat on the sofa, and Beast Boy plopped down between her and Starfire. He found his pad of paper wedged between the cushions and snatched it up.

"Well I did." Robin folded his arms, standing in front of the team. "The workers at the plant said that Overload showed up and absorbed all the power. He also went after the phone lines which was why they couldn't call us."

Cyborg sat up. "Wait, he can do that? Since when is he that powerful?"

"We've seen him grow in size before when he was hit with electronics," Robin reminded. "And, mechanically speaking, we've never given him the chance to touch anything much bigger than the T-car, but even then he was pretty formidable." Cyborg growled at the thought of the Titans' first encounter with Overload. The electrified chip had possessed his beloved baby, forcing Cyborg to shoot his brand new car. Robin continued. "Overload was long gone by the time I got there which is why I didn't call any of you. The workers said that the power will be out for several days until they can figure out how to fix what Overload did, so, although we'll deal with Overload if he shows up, our main concern for now will be taking care of the city while it has no power."

"You got it," Cyborg declared. "Who knows what chaos might happen because of the lack of power? Kids with no television or internet to distract them?! Not being able to see in the dark once the sun sets?! Not having a running refrigerator to eat out of?! What will they do when their milk goes sour?!"

"It's amazing they've survived this long," Raven decided in complete sarcasm.

Beast Boy wrote something down in messy handwriting. _'No video games! What will people do with their lives?"_

Starfire touched her lips lightly with her fingers, covering a smile. "Perhaps they will read the books?" She giggled when both Beast Boy and Cyborg gasped in mock horror, and Raven just rolled her eyes.

Robin cleared his throat to draw their attention back to him. "…I was thinking more along the lines of the issues with hospitals and phone connections. If there's an emergency, it'll be impossible for citizens to call for help. I was worried about it, so checked on the hospitals on the way back here, and thankfully they have backup generators like we do. I also dropped by the police station and gave them a communicator since the phones won't be working for a while and we don't have any cellphone number for the station to contact us with. But our communicators are battery-powered and should last at least until the power returns. If there's any sighting of Overload, the officers will alert us."

"Hang on, you just happened to have a spare communicator on you?" Cyborg smirked, teasing. "What, do you just carry extras around with you at all times?"

"Of course he does." Raven spoke before Robin could. "Haven't you noticed that whenever we meet a new Titan, he mysteriously pulls one out of thin air?"

Robin frowned at them, but his posture read of good humor. "My belt has more than enough pockets. I can afford to use one or two pouches to store away a few communicators."

"So I figure you can afford to give a few away too?" Cyborg grinned, leaning back into the sofa. Practically all of the Teen Titans –inside and outside of Jump City- knew about Robin's tendency to hand out the yellow devices nearly as often as Starfire offered hugs. The teenagers naturally exaggerated the subject, but that didn't mean it didn't amuse them a great amount.

Beast Boy held up his pad of paper. _'I heard he gave one to the mailman.'_

"Okay, okay, meeting's over." Robin shooed his hands at them before anyone else could rib him. "This is what I get when I try to talk to you all at midnight. Get some sleep so we can sweep the city again tomorrow."

With Cyborg laughing, Beast Boy grinning, and Starfire merely smiling, the Titans retired to their bedrooms for the night. Raven stopped Robin before he could follow his teammates out.

"Beast Boy heard you tell me to keep an eye on him."

Robin's mask tilted up. "He said that? Or-," –he cleared his throat- "indicated that?"

Raven nodded. "But he didn't seem upset. His emotions were fairly calm; I think he understood. I thought you might want to know."

"I'll keep it in mind."

Dipping her head, Raven egressed out into the hallway. Robin watched the doors shut, mentally processing and absorbing all the information he'd received throughout the day. It almost didn't feel like Beast Boy had lost his voice just that morning. The Titan stood in the ops room for a motionless moment before exiting as well.


	3. You Called Me

**I cannot believe how many follows this story is getting! I'm glad you all like it so much! Here's a bit of a longer chapter as thanks.**

* * *

Just as he'd promised, Robin split the team up the following day to sweep the city for trouble. The groups remained unchanged, and the Titans encountered the same amount of action as the night before: none. After several hours had passed, Robin called everyone back to the tower to report how little they'd found, and then they were given the rest of the day off.

The light hours were tame, and, aside from Robin who stuck himself in the evidence room to figure out what Overload was up to, the team spent their free time relaxing. For Raven, that meant reading a book and meditating. For Starfire, it was playing with Silkie and watching Cyborg and Beast Boy fight each other over video games. The boys played until dark, and then took a break for supper during which Raven pulled Beast Boy away from the television for a quick session of vocal cord healing. Everyone else drifted in and out of the ops room after that, and Raven had sat herself on the edge of the sofa when Cyborg decided to spend some bonding time with his car. Beast Boy waved a silent goodbye before popping a single player game into the station.

The room was quieter than usual without Beast Boy's shouting at the screen, but he still acted with the same excitement toward the television. Raven noted that it was much easier to focus on her reading now. Maybe thirty minutes had passed since Cyborg's departure, and suddenly the lights and the television blacked out.

Raven heard Cyborg's swearing through the walls, and then her and Beast Boy's communicators rang. The empath suspected Robin and Starfire were also getting a call somewhere else in the tower. Cyborg's darkened face filled the screen. "Generator blew a fuse. Don't worry, I'll get it. Don't everyone jump to help me!"

Rolling her eyes, Raven snapped the device closed and looked down at her book. Now that the power was out, her only source of light came through the window, and the stars and the moon didn't shine nearly bright enough for her to read the pages. She folded the novel shut, leaning back into the sofa and expecting Cyborg to do his job quickly. Sitting next to her, Beast Boy swung his legs back and forth. He could play video games without electricity just as well as Raven could read in the dark. So they waited.

The thought to return to her room had flickered through Raven's mind when Beast Boy hopped off of the couch and approached the window, pressing his face up against it. She felt his feelings calling her with that strange melting pot of emotions, and silently she walked up beside him. A bright grin donned his face when she stopped to stand by the wall-window, and the shape-shifter tapped the glass like a little child might do to a fish bowl. Raven lifted an eyebrow, and Beast Boy's lips parted an inch or two before he pointed up at the sky.

With the city's energy missing, the usual glow of electrical lights was absent. The yellow and orange gleam from Jump City no longer shone like a sun on Earth, and while the distant rumble and screech of vehicles were still faintly audible across the water, the sound didn't distract from the breathtaking sea of stars above them.

During her time on Earth, Raven had only ever seen the night sky in all its glory on the occasional mission that took the Titans out of Jump. On her birth world, Azarath, the monks that raised her didn't allow any windows to see the universe outside. It was too dangerous apparently. So was showing any emotion. Raven noticed that her reflection in the window was no longer impassive.

Beast Boy's eyes watched her with a blend of curiosity and happiness, and Raven smoothed out her features before glancing toward the green boy. "It's a nice view."

He pouted as if chastising her for such a lame comment to describe the brilliance of the stars. Raven shook her head at him, turning her deep indigo eyes up to the stars again only to be distracted when Beast Boy sat on the floor. After a moment, Raven copied him, and the boy grinned. He pressed his thumbs and index fingers together, forming a diamond and then motioning to the sky.

"…Do I like the stars?"

Her guess wasn't correct, but after Beast Boy shrugged and dipped his head, she assumed he wanted to know that too. Once again, Raven found her sights drawn upwards. "Yes, I do."

He flashed her his familiar grin, causing Raven to roll her eyes at him. "What else?" He formed a star with his hand again. "…Do I know any stars?" A nod in affirmation. "Only the common ones." Her books had been somewhat helpful in the subject, but Raven hardly knew more than the North Star and the Big and Little Dippers. "Do you?"

Surprised that she had asked him and even more pleased she was willing to talk, Beast Boy opened his mouth. Yet the words burned in his throat, forcing him to stop without a sound and touch his neck. Raven watched as he wrestled with frustration and sadness, and then, extending her hand toward the sofa, summoned his forgotten pad and pencil off of the cushion.

She received a grateful glance as he scribbled on one page. ' _The North Star.'_

"That's all?" Raven was expecting more after his excitement to answer her. The boy pressed his lips together and made his eyebrows swim in doubt.

' _And what do you know?'_

The empath sighed in acknowledgment. "Aside from the North Star, just the Dippers. I never claimed to know more," she reminded.

Beast Boy smirked, folding his hands under his head, shutting his eyes, and then drawing the outline of a rectangle with his fingers. Raven blinked. "Sleeping square."

Providing her with a silent sigh, his pencil touched the paper again. It took him awhile to write, but Raven contented herself by exploring the stars.

' _I rest my case.'_ He folded his arms. ' _Thought you knew me better than that Rae.'_

"Apparently you were wrong," she replied emotionlessly. Charades weren't in her expertise. Waving his hand in dismissal, the green shape-shifter crossed his legs and scooted closer to the window. The light from the moon reflected in his eyes, brightening the orbs like green fire. Raven looked up at the glitter of stars. Beast Boy was handling the situation fairly well, all things considered. She'd done some research. The loss of someone's voice –as well as sight, hearing, or any other sense- was known to understandably cause people depression, and for someone as talkative as Beast Boy, his silence had to be hard. Yet he'd managed to stay quite happy overall the last two days. It helped that Cyborg spend practically every minute of his time challenging the green teen to video game matches. No one could say that Cyborg didn't care about his best friend.

But Raven had also read somewhere that talking normally to those in such situations was important. It offered a sense of familiarity and fought alien feelings of helplessness. Although she wasn't one to converse more than necessary, Raven wanted to do what she could to keep Beast Boy from experiencing any ounce of such hollowness.

"Show me where the North Star is." The pale girl just about winced at her bluntness. So she was as experienced in the social department as she was at charades. Beast Boy was looking at her. "How do I know you weren't bluffing earlier?"

His canine tooth poked his grinning upper lip; the green Titan knew a test when he heard one. He had pointed out the white diamond above –that Raven assumed was correct, although it was hard to tell without any vocal description- and had convinced Raven to show him the Dippers when the ceiling bulbs crackled and flickered before bathing the main room in light again.

Beast Boy's shoulders sagged, but otherwise he didn't express his disappointment. However, Raven was an empath, and it wasn't difficult to see he was let down. Without rising from her seated position on the floor, she flicked her finger at the switch on the wall. The room darkened once more, and yet the bright smile that lit up Beast Boy's face seemed to scare away the shadows. They sat beside the window for the next few minutes as Raven explained to him the location of the Big and Little Dippers, and then the two heard the doors open. Cyborg peered around the ops room in confusion, scratching his head.

"Ya'll know I fixed the generator, right?"

Raven angled her head toward him briefly. "We know."

She moved back to the window, and Cyborg approached the pair, no less perplexed. "So, uh, why are the lights off?"

Beast Boy responded this time, forming a diamond with his fingers again and then pointing at the sky, beaming. Cyborg squinted.

"Okay… Whatever you say. Gesture, I mean. Uh, whatever you want." Cyborg offered two hopeful thumbs up and dropped down between Raven and Beast Boy, extending his legs. "So what you two talkin' about? Or, uh, what're you doin'?"

Raven gave a mental sigh at Cyborg's awful attempts to adjust his vocabulary. "We're looking at the stars." Beast Boy started scratching words onto his paper.

Peering out the window, Cyborg lifted his eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Hey, didn't realize you could see 'em tonight."

Beast Boy held up his pad. " _If you are going to join us grab some blanckets and food_."

Cyborg sighed in overdramatic exasperation but obliged anyway. When he was gone, Raven held out her hand, and, lifting a green eyebrow, Beast Boy dropped the pencil into her palm. After a moment of erasing, Raven returned the pad and pencil to which Beast Boy discovered his spelling error fixed.

' _Sorry my grammer sucks.'_

Raven glanced at his message. "Grammar, not grammer."

Beast Boy scrunched up his face irritably at the words before taking a deep breath and drawing a frowny sun in the corner of the page. Amusement ran through Raven, and she pulled the small notebook away from him, setting it off to the side. She received a curious look.

"We should come up with a few basic gestures to help the team understand what you're saying more." Raven sat on her legs. "Even I don't know what's running through your head half the time."

Bobbing his head, Beast Boy tapped his chin and then glanced at her with a quizzical glint in his eye.

"You're thinking," she guessed dryly. He held out two thumbs and wore a cheesy grin. "And that means I'm right." She earned another smirk and pose of encouragement.

They didn't get much further aside from a nod translating to yes and a shake meaning no, and when Cyborg returned with a bowl of chips, tea –much to Beast Boy's chagrin, but he stopped pouting when Raven offered for him to eat straight garlic as a prevention for infection instead- and a pile of blankets, the topic twisted off subject. Before long, Raven found herself involved in a game of charades that she, although refusing to join in the acting out part, realized she was actually fairly good at. Cyborg proved how awful he was at performing the phrases, and Beast Boy loved showcasing his newfound acting talent. Their snacks and drinks diminished as the night grew longer, and soon enough the game came to an end when Cyborg started snoring in the middle of Beast Boy's crow form running frantically in circles.

Raven wrapped her blanket around herself as Beast Boy gave up, transforming into his human form and plopping down on his stomach beside Cyborg. The robotic Titan lay stretched out on his back across the floor, low rumbling drifting from his open mouth. "What were you supposed to be?"

Beast Boy smirked at her. _'A scarecrow.'_

"I think you were doing a scared crow."

He just pushed air past his lips, waving his hand in dismissal and then covering a somnolent yawn. He smacked his tongue on the roof of his mouth, writing words down in sloppy handwriting made worse by sleepiness. _'Thanks for staying up.'_

"It was no problem."

Beast Boy smiled for her, drawing up a big blanket and then snuggling down on the floor next to Cyborg with his feet near his best friend's head. Minutes later the shape-shifter was out, curled up into a ball and breathing softly. Raven stood, walking over to the sink and placing their dishes inside without a sound to be washed later. She paced back to her friends, weariness tugging her to sit with them, and, with an exhale, she obeyed the pull. A quick round of meditation under the stars wouldn't hurt her.

Floating a few inches above the ground, Raven crossed her legs and hummed her mantra as peace washed over her.

* * *

Sunlight greeted her the next morning, and Raven had to take a moment to realize she was not laying on her back in her bedroom but still in the ops. Someone else was moving around in the kitchen -most likely the cause of her awakening- and the window filtered golden rays through the glass a few feet away. Raven lifted her hand to rub sleep from her eyes, glancing to the side at the two Titans on her right.

Cyborg had not moved from his stick straight position, but Beast Boy tended to roll around in his sleep. His head somehow found its way up onto Raven's stomach, and, despite her dislike for physical contact of any kind, the empath had to admit that she'd gotten the better end of the deal. Beast Boy's feet were propped up on Cyborg's chest, scarily close to his best friend's nose. It was amazing that the larger Titan hadn't woken up yet from the smell.

Footsteps focused Raven's attention again, and she lifted her sights to the smile on Robin's face above. She merely blinked in response.

Her leader drank from the glass in his hand. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"Didn't expect to have stayed."

"Need a hand?" The corner of his mouth shifted up.

"Preferably."

Robin knelt with a funny smirk that Raven didn't miss, and he helped her slip out from under Beast Boy's head without waking him, replacing her stomach with a pillow once Raven was free. She and Robin escaped into the kitchen, and the dark girl started preparing two mugs of tea.

"So." Robin leaned against the edge of the counter. "How was your bonding experience?"

"How was yours?" Raven countered.

He seemed only a little surprised. "You assume I had one?"

Stirring her tea, Raven watched steam rise from the cups and swirl around the air. "Starfire didn't come down after the lights went out. I felt her moving around, and since she didn't find us, the only other options were you or Silkie."

"Fair enough." He walked over to the table, sitting on one side while Raven placed herself across from him. "We just talked for a while, and she managed to drag me out of the evidence room when it was getting late."

"She always does."

Robin nodded. "Your turn."

"I had hoped to come up with a few gestures for Beast Boy to use so we could understand him better without everything having to be written down, but it turned into a game of charades when Cyborg joined us."

"So you didn't come up with anything useful?"

"Not much." Raven swallowed a mouthful of tea. She'd brought over only one of her full cups from the counter. "But I think Beast Boy needed it. He appreciates distractions from the loss of his voice." Humming, Robin finished what was left of his morning beverage and stood to search the refrigerator for anything he could make into breakfast. Spotting a carton of eggs, the leader withdrew several, calling over his shoulder to Raven.

"Want an omelet?" He received her affirmation and flipped on a burner as Raven continued drinking the remainder of her tea. "Beast Boy does seem to be handling this whole thing pretty well."

"That's what I thought."

Robin held two eggs between his fingers and cracked them on the side of the counter. "I appreciate your watching him and interpreting for us."

They both knew she would've even without Robin's asking. "It's not a chore. Losing your voice is a difficult issue to manage."

Agreeing, Robin dropped the insides of his eggs onto the pan. The sizzle and smell filled the air. "I have to admit though, the tower's been a lot quieter lately." He smirked at her.

Raven cracked a faint smile. "I won't disagree." A waking stir of emotions drew her eyes over to the two Titans sprawled out by the window. The scent of food had floated over Beast Boy's sensitive nose, and his mouth curved down before his eyes opened. Brief confusion washed off of him, followed then by realization, and the green boy stretched out his arms and legs. Unfortunately for Cyborg, Beast Boy didn't know his feet were but a few inches from the half metal man's face, and Cyborg was woken by a nice big whiff of shoe stink.

"BB! Get your stinkin' feet outta my face!"

Beast Boy jolted with surprise, which did not help his case and almost resulted in a kick to Cyborg's nose. Giving a sheepish grin, the smaller Titan removed his feet and scooted backwards with an unheard apology on his lips. The words only effect was to rub up Beast Boy's throat the wrong way. He hardly had time to wince when a glowing cup of tea drifted within reach, and the shape-shifter accepted it, glancing toward Raven gratefully. She just sipped from her own mug in response.

With a groan, Cyborg rubbed his eye. "Remind me again why we don't use BB's shoes as a weapon against the bad guys?"

"We don't kill," Raven said.

Robin couldn't stop from smiling. "Good morning you two."

"Not when everything smells like sweat and skunk it isn't," Cyborg muttered, snorting to get the stench out of his nostrils. Beast Boy shrugged, grinning and then turning into a sheep. Robin looked for a second and then turned to Raven.

She lowered her hood. "I think he's sheepish."

Beast Boy transformed into human again, nodding and then trying the tea Raven had provided him. She noticed the grimace but said nothing, instead accepting the omelet Robin placed down before her. Cyborg scratched his head. "You're way better at that charades thing than I figured, Raven."

"No one is more surprised than myself."

Cyborg helped himself to more eggs in the refrigerator, and Beast Boy retrieved his paper next to the window. He tossed it down as he sat beside Raven who read his words. "' _She cheated by using her powers by being an enpath.'_ " Raven disregarded the spelling error. "Says the one who turned into an animal to portray a scarecrow."

"That's what he was?!" Cyborg shut the white door. "Man, I figured you were tryin' to be a microwave." Beast Boy started silently laughing, and Cyborg tried to explain himself. "Because you were a crow! And, y'know. Microwave. Crow. Mi _crow_ ave."

Starfire entered minutes later, greeting her happy and content friends as they helped themselves to breakfast. As they had the day prior, the team lacked any arguments concerning meat and tofu, but Cyborg quickly made up for that by discussing sports with Robin. The ringing of Robin's communicator disrupted their chat, and the Titans' leader straightened when he answered it.

"Overload's going after the hospitals downtown." Everyone stood, and they were out of the room seconds later at Robin's command, their light attitudes switched into seriousness.

* * *

From a distance, the midmorning sunlight and calm breeze might've given the illusion that all was well within Jump, but deep inside of the city, the residents knew otherwise; it was bad enough that their electricity had been stolen by some lightning-like monster, but now that very creature was attacking one of their largest hospitals, one of the few buildings that had a backup generator as well as air conditioning. And in the summer, AC was extremely important to people. For the last few days, the local clinic had found itself with many more visitors than usual, which was unfortunate seeing as Overload was now one of them, and he wasn't there for the free AC.

The Titans arrived in the T-Car just as Overload was about to crawl through the hospital's entrance, and Robin halted the monster's actions with a shout. "Overload!"

He stopped, halfway in and out of the glass doors, and then drew back, allowing more screaming people to sprint out. Standing up straight, the white behemoth towered above the team, level with the windows on the second floor. His entire form was made of pure white, crackling electricity that formed his arms, legs, and torso. A little red chip hovered in the center of his chest, the brains of the false body.

Cyborg squinted up at Overload. "Yo! When did he get so tall?!"

"Perhaps he has hit the puberty?" Starfire suggested, tapping her lip. Beast Boy's shoulders shook with an unheard laugh.

Cyborg chuckled with him. "Well, that's one crazy big growth spurt."

"He did absorb all of the energy from a power plant," Raven reminded impassively.

"The bigger they are, the harder the fall." Robin spun his staff. "Keep him away from the building; he's after its electricity. Titans, go!"

The teenagers ran forward as one. Starfire fired her starbolts, knocking Overload a few steps down the clinic's stairs, and Raven assisted with the swing of a nearby lamppost. With a pained grunt, Overload ducked under Robin's thrown disks and wrapped an electric tendril around Cyborg who was coming in for a punch. The robotic Titan shouted as sparks leapt from his body, the blue veins in his metal flickering, and Overload grew a few inches in size before Beast Boy rammed into him as a bull.

Raven flew down to Cyborg's side, and Beast Boy reverted back into human to check on his best friend with a concerned expression. Starfire and Robin distracted Overload, pushing him back into the street.

Cyborg waved them off. "I'm fine, I'm fine, just a little drained." He shuddered, and the flashing in his mechanical parts stabilized. "I guess he's learned a few new tricks."

Overload fired two shots of electricity at Robin and Starfire, knocking them both down, and with a loud laugh jumped into the wires sticking out of the base of the lamppost Raven had ripped out earlier. The empath dropped her hood. "More than a few." She closed her eyes. "It's difficult to follow him, but I think he's traveling through the cables."

"Man, I hate this new Overload! The last time all we had to do was douse some water on him, and-." Cyborg halted and lifted his eyebrow.

Raven nodded. "If we can catch him."

"More power means more abilities," Robin scowled, helping Starfire to her feet. The alien princess smoothed down her zapped hair. "Raven, show us where he's going."

She led them down the street until they came to a split road where she lost track. Robin ordered the team to divided and conquer, Starfire and himself going one way while Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy ran the other. The latter discovered Overload after several minutes in a quieter part of town when he zapped up near a row of apartment buildings through another streetlight.

Cyborg aimed his arm cannon at the villain. "There's no way out, Overload. Give Jump City back its electricity!"

"You want it back?" Overload asked in his strange mechanical voice. His arms crackled with power. "Only if you insist!" He fired a beam of electricity, and the three Titans dove to the side. The shot flew over their heads and connected with the structure behind them. The villain laughed again. "Uh oh, is that smoke I see? Did Overload start a fire?" His cackle disappeared as he zipped down the road.

Cyborg clenched his fists and sprinted after the white monster, calling over his shoulder. "Raven, Beast Boy, either put the fire out or get everyone out of the buildin'! I'll call Rob and Star to help me catch Overload!"

Raven and Beast Boy glanced at each other and then the smoking two-story building. It was clear from the lack of available water nearby that their only option was to evacuate civilians from the structure. "I'll take the top floor," she said, and they separated.

Beast Boy realized his first problem when he set foot inside the entryway. The fire alarm –which normally would've been blaring by now- did not work with the lack of electricity. He even ran over to the red lever on the wall marked _In Case Of Emergency_ , but there was no siren. What a surprise. The one time he had a good reason to pull a handle with that warning, nothing happened. Apparently no one in the apartments had a functioning smoke detector either. Beast Boy knew he shouldn't be surprised. The building was not in the best shape; he could almost see the mold stains growing behind the peeling wallpaper.

His second issue was that he couldn't shout at people to get out since he was unable to speak. Like the city was handicapped without its electricity, Beast Boy was by the lack of his voice. But that didn't mean he didn't know how to make noise. In fact, he considered himself an expert at being loud.

He transformed into a gorilla and jumped on the ground floor with all his might, thumping his chest on occasion for good measure. The heavy pounding outside their doors drew residents into the halls pretty quick. After a lot of pointing and gesturing, Beast Boy got the message to leave across, and the rooms began emptying themselves.

The smoke had leaked to the bottom floor already, burning at his sensitive nose; he could only hope Raven was getting people out upstairs. Moments later, as if in response to his thoughts, a crowd stampeded down the staircase and out the door in the least orderly fashion Beast Boy had ever seen. Good, one less thing to worry about, and he was almost done shooing his floor in the direction of the exit too. The shape-shifter's green ears twitched, detecting crying at the far end of the hall.

A quick inspection led him to discover a tiny child curled up in the corner of her bedroom, fat tears rolling down her plump cheeks and her teddy bear practically strangled in her tight grip. But it would seem she'd never seen a green, pointy-eared Titan before since the girl took one look at Beast Boy and then bolted from the apartment. The shape-shifter jogged after her to make sure she was headed in the right direction, and his heart sank when, in her panic, she sprinted up the stairs toward the fire above. He'd managed to grab her on a flat corner section when suddenly the support beams above them cracked, collapsing down on both sides of them in a shower of sparks.

The child was now clinging to him with a death grip, and Beast Boy drew back into the corner with the girl against his chest. The smoke already was brushing against the tips of his ears, and at the top of the stairs above, heated flames twirled in a taunting dance. He sank down to escape the smoke.

He could get out of this. A T-rex would easily break through the walls. But, wait, how was he going to carry the girl out with those tiny dinosaur arms? Okay then, a whale! Oh, wait, same issue. And he'd probably fall through the floor before he could get them out. Same with the dinosaur. He couldn't exactly shout for help either, and squeezing through the rubble wasn't an option because he couldn't leave the child behind. Alright, maybe he couldn't get them out, but he could call someone who would.

Beast Boy reached for his communicator, inhaling to calm his nerves and breathing in mostly smoke. A rough cough ripped up his throat, causing him to wince. Another breath brought in more polluted air, and his chest shuddered as it attempted to wheeze again. Oh _no_ he was not getting caught in another coughing fit, not now! Squeezing his eyes shut, Beast Boy fumbled to find the call button. Where _was_ it?! Where was _Raven_ , come to think of it? He hadn't seen her at all since entering the building. She'd be fine. She could handle herself. Then again, he thought he could handle himself and look where he was. What if something had happened to her?

The communicator slipped from his hand, and he tried to swear, resulting in worsening his fit. Raven had to be fine! _He_ wasn't! He needed her help! Raven! Blinded by his coughing tears, Beast Boy scrambled for his device. The heat was crawling closer, and he was trapped in a corner with a child glued to his chest. Raven had told him several times that she couldn't read minds, but as an empath, didn't that mean she could feel his thoughts or something? Beast Boy projected his thoughts, practically shouting for her in his mind and pouring his panic into every mental word.

He wasn't hanging onto the girl very well, so it wasn't much of a surprise when she released him with a yelp and fell onto the floor. He took the opportunity to wipe his eyes with a shaking hand, and then blinked several times when an explosion of magic teleported in front of him.

"Hold onto me," Raven told him. Beast Boy fell forward and grabbed her legs tightly, pulling lines in her cloak with his clenched fists. Raven snatched the child up, and a dark raven flew up out of the ground to carry them through the walls of the burning building.

Beast Boy saw the sunlight next through his blurry vision several feet outside of the apartments. His senses informed him that a mass of people stood nearby, and the quiet sobbing of a female voice drew close, coupling with the high cry from the child to tell him that the little girl was back with a family member. Raven returned the kid with a blank expression and then knelt beside Beast Boy who still clung to her leg, unable to stand with coughs still wracking his body. The relief flooding his brain calmed Raven a little, but his anxiety had yet to disappear.

She leaned toward him. "Beast Boy. Beast Boy, talk to me." The empath stiffened as soon as the sentence left her mouth, but, swallowing her slip of the tongue, she pressed her already glowing hand against his throat. Her other palm rested on his back, feeling his shoulder blades jerk whenever he coughed. After a minute, he was still wheezing weakly, but she knew it didn't hurt as much with her healing. The empath gently placed her palm over his heart, using her magic to feel inside his lungs. Her eyes slanted. He'd inhaled more smoke than she'd realized. With a shimmering hand, Raven slid her fingers up his chest and lightly against his neck, guiding the smoke out. Beast Boy exhaled loudly, and the coughing stopped at last, leaving him heaving heavy gasps.

"Breathe easy," she said, removing her hands from his torso. Raven couldn't tell if he'd heard her or not, but at least the shape-shifter wasn't feeling the pain he had before. They were still on the ground, and Raven noticed the people they'd saved were watching the scene. A loud wail that had been screaming steadily closer for the past few minutes arrived, and the firetruck Raven had called for on her communicator pulled up to water down the burning building. Citizens decided that the red vehicle was more interesting to watch, and most eyes rotated toward the firefighters.

Raven returned her attention to Beast Boy. "You're alright now," the empath stated, not allowing the uncertain tone in her mind to leak into her voice. He nodded at her, gasping a few more times to clear out any remaining wisps of smoke, and then surprised Raven by throwing his arms around her neck with a deep intake of air.

Now Raven felt truly glad their audience was distracted by the fire. Beast Boy's face was hiding in her shoulder, and his body shook with exhaustion and leftover adrenalized fear dying in his veins. The sorceress's empathetic senses opened. He was scared. Relieved. Fatigued. Grateful. And… Raven. The same emotions that had hit her so hard before she had flown into the building to save him were running through his mind again. She didn't know the words in his thoughts, but he was feeling the same as he did when he thought about her.

Beast Boy couldn't tell when Raven had teleported them back to the tower, but the next thing he knew, she was guiding him off of the floor toward a medical bed. Realizing his arms still were wrapped behind her neck, he detached himself with caution, faintly questioning why she hadn't removed him from her person earlier. Raven helped him sit down, and he dropped onto the mattress, his head sinking backwards into the pillow. Everything hurt; his whole body ached in a way far worse than a couple of days after one of Robin's intense training sessions.

Where she'd gotten it, Beast Boy wasn't sure, but Raven drew him up and placed a mug of tea in his hand. Had he passed out for a few minutes? He couldn't ask. The liquid burned at his throat, and yet felt strangely soothing.

Raven's communicator rang. Beast Boy tuned in after a few seconds to hear her answer some question from Robin. "Yes."

Robin's voice was serious. "We need you and Beast Boy down here. We're just about to corner Overload." Instinctively Beast Boy rose, but Raven glared at him with such intensity that he fell right back down. Not that he would've been able to stand long anyway.

"We can't," Raven said, deadpan.

A pause from the communicator. "Why not?"

"Beast Boy inhaled too much smoke and irritated his throat. He's alright, but he needs rest."

The reason for Raven's need to stay didn't come up, and a grunt of understanding came from the screen. "Alright. We'll handle it." Cyborg's voice could be heard in the background, but the connection cut before any legible words were heard.

Raven clicked the device shut and sat down on the side of the bed, pulling out a familiar pad of paper. She'd grabbed it when she was making the tea. Beast Boy focused on it, recognizing the notebook a little slower than he would've liked, and then picked it up. He stared at the paper for a moment, and Raven found herself wondering for the first time since she'd known the boy if he had anything to say.

A quiet scribble scratched a page. _'Déjà vu.'_

Raven lifted an eyebrow. The words had been written several times in an attempt to spell the phrase correctly. "What do you mean?"

' _Second time I've had big-time coughing panic thing this week.'_ He smiled weakly at her, his palm brushing against his neck. _'Did you get everyone out of the building?'_

"Everyone on the second floor." Raven didn't miss the nervous flicker in his expression. "You did your job. No one was left except for you and the girl."

Beast Boy's shoulders slackened, and he took a slow swallow of the tea. It didn't have nearly enough sugar in it for him, but the taste was helping him clear his head. _'How did you know to come get me?'_

"You called me."

His mouth opened in protest, and Raven shook her head. "Not in words."

Emotions always changed and never stayed the same for more than a few minutes, whether it was to shift to a stronger or weaker sense of the feeling, or altering to a new emotion entirely. Raven had taken years to decipher the difference between the thought and the outer sensations that her empathy picked up on. The initial response to an occurrence was the strongest, the outer emotion. The thought responses included the things or people involved in the situation. Most often the two overlapped, but there was the occasional contrast such as if a person was disliked but the happenings were enjoyed, or vice versa.

"Your emotions were calling me."

Beast Boy tilted his head a little at her.

"You feel different things when you think of different people. Robin." A quiet sense of respect flowed off of Beast Boy. "Cyborg." Brotherly love. "Starfire." Happiness and trust. "Raven." He looked up at her with big green eyes. "When you were trapped, aside from the fear and anxiety, I could feel you thinking quite loudly for me."

The shape-shifter lowered his head, a thoughtful expression on his face. And then a grin appeared, and his pen scrawled a few words on the page. _'So you_ _can read minds!'_

Raven exhaled. "No. As I've said, I'm just an observant empath."

He underlined "can,"and Raven rolled her eyes. The shape-shifter sat against his pillow with a victorious smirk, taking another sip from the mug before cringing at the rawness in his chest and esophagus. Raven sighed. "I know it doesn't taste that bad. Come here."

He complied, scooting forward a few inches until there was less than a foot of space between them. Raven's hand gently touched his throat, her cool fingers brushing over his skin with a delicate pressure. The soothing light shone under his chin, Raven's magic mending what recent damage she could locate. Her fingertips lowered to hover just above his collarbone, and Beast Boy swallowed, feeling that his ears were as warm as the soft ache pounding in his chest.

The healing glow evaporated into the air. "That's all I can find. Do you feel better now?"

Beast Boy rubbed his neck. The raw burning was absent from his throat, but the pressure in his torso was still pushing out, and he couldn't figure out what was causing it. Was there still some smoke left that Raven hadn't drawn out? His lungs felt frozen every time he inhaled, almost tingling, and his heart was pounding extremely loudly. The boy looked up. Raven was waiting for his answer with expectant indigo eyes.

Raven blinked in surprise when Beast Boy grasped her hand, shaking his head. She focused her attention on his neck again. "It still hurts?"

He shook his head side to side in a negative motion.

"Something else?" Raven guessed.

She received a nod in response, and Beast Boy carried her hand to his chest, holding her palm slightly above his ribcage. His heart beat strong underneath.

"Your chest hurts."

To her surprise, Beast Boy frowned, his emotions filled with doubt.

"Your ribs. Lungs." He turned his head left and right. "Heart?"

He hesitated, and the pulsing in his chest increased. Raven tried to withdraw her arm, but Beast Boy grasped her fingers tighter, looking up with confusion and pleading in his expression. He almost acted as if he didn't know what was hurting him, or if he was really in pain. Breathing in deeply a few times, Beast Boy gestured helplessly at his upper body. Raven returned his look, unable to understand.

"Beast Boy." She stopped his random signals and waving, retracting her hand. "Relax. You're making no sense."

Pressing his lips together, Beast Boy glanced around for his paper, but once the pad lay in his lap, the pen hovered over without touching. How was he supposed to write down what he couldn't explain in words? He grasped at the air for a moment, opening his mouth and closing it before dropping his shoulders in defeat, his hand to the side. Raven retracted her hand. Beast Boy's face had flushed with faded scarlet. The weight had vanished as quickly as it had come, and it didn't make sense for him to miss it.

Raven waited to see if he had any attempts at communicating, and when Beast Boy failed to move, she leaned her palm flat against his chest. Her powers probed within, hunting for pain he might be experiencing, but nothing jumped out. The magic faded, leaving Raven perplexed. Beast Boy's emotions ran true, so he wasn't lying that something bothered him. But what ache did he have that couldn't be solved with magic?

The silence hung between them for several minutes, and then, a hidden smile curling up his lips, Beast Boy wrote down a sentence. _'So does the patient get any ice cream?'_


	4. Thank Me

**I'm so sorry for the long lack of an update, but I have been legitimately busy. But here's the next chapter and a quick answer to Lilybud's question who I couldn't reach otherwise!**

 **Thank you! And to answer your question, it is rare for me to have the whole story written and finished before I post chapters, but I almost always have the ending planned out.**

* * *

Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire returned an hour later. Starfire smelled like burnt hair, Cyborg's circuits were scarred with dark ash, and even the edges of Robin's uniform had been blackened by electricity. There were no injuries save for the blows given to their pride. Once arrived home, the team dropped by the medical bay right away to check on Beast Boy. He mutely inquired as to what had happened to Overload, but Robin uttered, "He got away," and offered no more elaboration.

During their sixty minutes of waiting for the others, Raven had refused to release the green boy from the infirmary, but after he complained of boredom fifty or so times, she did bring him a few drawing utensils. The empath had meditated while he scribbled, and, when the Titans came in, she summarized the incident in her usual clipped tone, including the important details and nothing else. Cyborg ran a quick check-up on his best friend and determined that Beast Boy would need another day's rest before going out on any more missions. Beast Boy suspected some personal opinion had snuck its way into his assessment, but at least Cyborg wasn't gluing him down in the bay overnight. He made his way to his room and took an impromptu nap until the next morning.

* * *

Beast Boy opened his eyes to afternoon sunlight and a gentle knocking on his door. His throat's muscles moved to answer the visitor, but he remembered his disability the second after no sound left his mouth. Yawning in a gulp of air, the teenager stumbled out of the bottom bunk and over to the entrance.

Standing in the entryway, Starfire peered down at her shorter teammate with a small smile. "Greetings, friend Beast Boy. Are you feeling the better?"

He offered her two sleepy thumbs up and a lopsided grin. Waving her in, he scanned his quarters for his rectangular pad of paper, and found it on his nightstand. Starfire followed after him, peering around with a sense of understandable caution in her eyes. It wasn't rare for an unsuspecting Titan to be caught unaware by a falling pile of clothes or comics. Beast Boy would've apologized for the mess, but that was one of the few perks of losing his voice.

The alien princess folded her fingers together. "Robin and Cyborg are having the discussion down the stairs and require your presence."

Beast Boy frowned. Robin and Cyborg's discussions could range from friendly video game banter to full-blown arguments. He turned over his pad and, a couple page flips later, found an open sheet to write on. He might need Raven to find him another notebook soon if she didn't heal his voice within the next few days.

' _Gimme five minutes.'_

A quick change of clothes and teeth brushing later, Beast Boy was strolling down the hallway. He'd sent Starfire on ahead, not wanting to make her wait as he freshened up. The lethargic sensation from waking from sleep had faded away to be replaced with light happiness. After all, he did have the whole day off from crime fighting.

* * *

The discussion had started after Robin came into the ops room from a morning jog, and, while he and Cyborg weren't shouting yet, they might as well have been. Each sentence was laced with harsh determination and a sting of an insult.

"He is not allowed to go back out there until he's healed. You saw what happened yesterday! What if Raven hadn't been there?"

"But she was. She handled it. He handled it. Accidents happen to us, and whether or not we can speak has nothing to do with it."

Cyborg fumed at Robin as his temper got the better of him. In his eyes, his best friend was in danger, and his leader was doing nothing about it. "This is the second time this week! The first time was an accident, but this, this was because he couldn't shout for help!"

"We don't know that's why. Raven didn't say that." Robin was sitting on the couch, arms and legs folded, his shoulders straight despite Cyborg's towering over him.

"She said that he was coughin' on the smoke! You weren't there when he was panickin' when he first lost his voice. I was! He looked terrified! Helpless!"

Robin stiffened, his muscles moving as if he was going to stand, and then restrained himself. His back was rigid. "That is the whole point as to why he should still go on missions. One day of rest is fine, but any more will make him feel useless and helpless! And he's not; he just temporarily inconvenienced."

"Inconvenienced?!" Cyborg roared. "He can't speak!" The doors slid apart as Starfire entered without the boys' notice, and she and Raven exchanged a glance. The dark girl sat at the table near the kitchen, watching the argument within the shadows of her hood. Starfire joined her after a brief second or so, and Raven extended her senses to detect Beast Boy's presence far off in the bathroom. They had several minutes yet before he joined them.

"Why do you think you know what he needs anyway?!" A heavy scowl came with Cyborg's accusation. "You can't even read his handwritin'! You're supposed to be this great big detective, but you can't even tell what he's thinkin' half the time!" Their dispute was getting closer and closer to trading insults, but Robin tried to stay on topic. The subject needed to be addressed. It was important.

"It has been three days, Cyborg. Only three. And I don't see you translating his thoughts for the rest of the team either."

Raven felt Starfire's eyes on her, but the empath didn't look away from the males across the room. She identified conflict within the alien princess. Beast Boy's position on the team wasn't in question; Robin and Cyborg were disagreeing on whether or not the green Titan should stay in the tower until he was fully healed. Starfire acknowledged both sides of the problem. But she couldn't decide and stayed as quiet as Raven while the boys fought it out.

Much to Raven's dismay, the two males turned toward her. "I plead the fifth," she said immediately.

They both stared at the empath, caught off guard by the statement. "What?"

"Silence is golden."

"Raven!" Cyborg exclaimed. "You were there! Out of all of us, you should know the right answer here!"

"I'm not the one you should be saying that to." Her sentence didn't mean to come out so intense, but at least it quieted the pair for a moment.

When Cyborg started again, his voice was lowered at Robin. "You just think that havin' him stay behind will weaken the team because Overload got away yesterday." A cord was struck, but only Raven sensed it.

The leader inhaled a breath. "If I say he's not allowed to join us on missions, he'll think I'm going to remove him from the team, and I specifically promised Beast Boy that he would not get kicked off because of this."

"He's not gettin' kicked off, he's just gettin' a break for a while! And y'know what?! Maybe he'll be relieved?! Maybe he needs this break but doesn't want to say anythin'!"

"That's because he can't!" Robin was finally at shouting volume, and so both Raven and Starfire felt a sense of relief when Beast Boy walked into the room in the next moment, peering up from his little pad. His look of pure confusion was almost comedic in the tight air.

Robin swallowed the shout in his voice. "There you are, Beast Boy."

Beast Boy scratched his hair, nodding and tucking the paper into a pocket of his belt. A glimpse at the girls seemed to calm his sudden flurry of nerves, and he quirked an eyebrow. Cyborg waved him closer until the shape-shifter stood behind the couch.

"Uh, how you feelin', man?"

Beast Boy shrugged, raising his hands in an unknowing gesture before offering a hesitant thumbs up.

Cyborg tried again. "Does your throat still hurt after yesterday?"

His shoulders lifted his arms again, waggling his fingers sideways in a so-so motion. Raven spoke up from her chair. "No more than it has been." Beast Boy nodded at her, and then twisted his face in question, glancing at Starfire. "He wants to know what Starfire brought him here for."

Cyborg sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, and Robin rose slowly. "Cyborg and I have been… discussing a few things concerning your condition." Beast Boy blinked, and Raven sensed a quiet flicker of uncertainty stir within him. Robin continued. "Cyborg believes it would be in your best interest to keep you at the tower to heal until your voice comes back. This would include keeping you from going on missions." Beast Boy didn't move yet. "And I think you would be fine if you continued to go out with the team."

The boy stood still for several seconds, focused on the ground with an emotionless face that Raven would've been proud of had she not been trying to read his expression. The Titans looked at her, but the empath had nothing to say. Such a lack of response from Beast Boy was unsettling for everyone, and Cyborg couldn't stand it.

"BB, you wouldn't be gettin' kicked off the team or anythin'," he said, feeling the need to explain his side of the issue. "I just don't want you to get hurt anymore. I mean, problems have already come up since you couldn't speak, and I don't want you to get hurt. None of us do." He shot a scowl at Robin as if adding a silent disclaimer.

The leader addressed his younger teammate while ignoring the bigger teenager. "You aren't helpless without your voice, Beast Boy. In the end, the choice is yours, but I am not going back on my word. You are still a part of this team, but I don't think your being unable to speak will keep you from participating in missions."

Starfire approached Beast Boy and touched his shoulder. "Friend Beast Boy? What is it you wish to do?"

The urge to say something funny rose in his throat. Had he been able to say anything at all, Beast Boy would've lightened the mood with a joke or inappropriate comment, but as it was, he was forced to think without saying a single word. Then again, he wasn't sure if he would be able to produce anything very funny the way his mind was spinning. His mouth opened, his incisors brushing against his lips, and then closed again. What was the right answer?

Once again, Cyborg had to say something. His worry and anxiety were chalked up after yesterday's incident, and he turned to take it out on Robin. "Rob, this is crazy! Just tell him to stay until he's better!"

Robin shook his head. "I won't do that."

"Why not?! He needs to stay safe, man! This is the best way to do that!"

"He knows how to handle himself. You're letting your personal opinion interfere with the situation, and so you think he can't take care of himself."

"Me?!" Cyborg shouted. "Then why did you tell Raven to watch over him?!" So apparently everyone in the tower knew about that conversation. Beast Boy shrunk into himself, and Raven sensed a strong wave of shame and conflict from him.

"Give him a minute to think," she said. "He can't even speak to defend himself."

"And how long will that take?" Cyborg interjected impatiently. Raven angled her head toward him, narrowing her eyes. "How long until he will be able to speak again? How long until his voice comes back?!"

Restrained curiosity. Beast Boy wanted to know too. "I don't know," Raven answered in reserved monotone.

"And so what if it doesn't ever? What then?!"

Dead silence. A moment for the intake of breath. And then Beast Boy was gone. He transformed into a mouse and disappeared into the hallway to leave the Titans alone in the ops room.

Cyborg dropped down onto the couch, holding his hand over his forehead. He swore under his breath. "I shouldn't have… Raven, what is he-?"

"He's scared." Raven closed her eyes. Beast Boy was escaping out the tower's doors and moving down toward the shore. "But he's not angry."

Robin joined the robotic Titan on the sofa. "This was too much to throw at him all at once."

"Hindsight is always twenty-twenty." Raven rose from her seat. "I'll talk to him."

"No, don't, I-." Cyborg stood up. "I need to do it. Where is he?"

"On the rocks."

* * *

Beast Boy pressed the side of his pencil's lead against the paper on his lap, drawing out a long, thick line of black. His right glove lay on the rock beside him as he used his finger to blur the mark on the paper. He didn't have much in mind as to what he was drawing, but it was helping distract him. And that was all he wanted.

He hadn't realized how much he'd lost with his voice. His stupid arguments with Cy, his annoying Raven, his jokes –although he would admittedly make a super funny mime- his laughter… No more talking about sharks and coconuts or coming up with any other hilarious inside jokes like that. Never before had he missed the way his voice used to crack at the most embarrassing and inopportune times. And though he knew they hadn't done it yet, being mute made it easier for his friends to ignore him, and the green Titan had been just waiting for that moment to come. But now Beast Boy felt the furthest thing from ignored. He shouldn't have thought he would go unnoticed, not after all that attention from Cyborg and Robin. Now he'd almost rather be ignored.

He wanted to speak again _so_ badly; it was an awareness he hadn't truly comprehended until Cyborg sparked the realization within him. Part of the shape-shifter wanted to march up to Raven right then and there and demanded for her to heal him. Sure she would get tired, but Raven was so powerful, Beast Boy doubted she wouldn't be able to fix him in one go if she tried. Then again, who knew what might happen to her if she attempted that? That was why he hadn't brought it up. He wasn't that desperate. Yet, anyway. Who knew how long it would take until he got to that level of frustration? That is, if it was even possible for him to speak again at all.

Drawing wasn't keeping his mind as occupied as he'd hoped. Beast Boy tightened his shoulders, almost snapping the lead off of his pencil. The clank of footsteps clanged over the rocks behind him, and Beast Boy's ears twitched, surprised. He'd almost been expecting the pace of someone, if anyone, with softer, nearly silent shoes to visit him.

"Uh, hey, BB." Cyborg's low voice stopped a few feet back. He cleared his throat. "Raven said you weren't mad, but, I mean, considerin' what I said… I wouldn't be surprised if she was wrong…"

Beast Boy smirked at the water, the liquid golden from the afternoon sun. Raven? Wrong? The two words didn't belong together in the same sentence.

"I didn't mean to scare you, B," Cyborg apologized. "It's just that I'm just as freaked as you, and I was only speakin' my worst fears. Worst case scenario, y'know? But then again, I guess I shouldn't say that you're less freaked than me. Thanks to me bein' stupid, I probably made you way worse. I'm real sorry, BB. You're gonna get your voice back. We've got Raven's healin', and you're dang stubborn when it comes to gettin' somethin' you want. I shouldn't have made such a big deal outta it. I didn't wanna make you any more worried than before; I really only wanted to make sure you were safe. And I do think you can take care of yourself. It's just the big bro in me that wants to guarantee that. And Robin does too. I-." Cyborg sucked in a big breath and dropped himself down on a particularly large rock by Beast Boy's side. He looked to the right at his green friend with a small smirk. "Y'know, it's really hard to stop ramblin' when you can't tell me to."

Thankful he hadn't broken his pencil, Beast Boy wrote down a message. _'No, keep going. This is great blackmaile materiel.'_

Cyborg chuckled. "Good thing Raven's not here right now. She'd totally destroy your spellin' attempts, man." Beast Boy stuck his tongue at him, his chest feeling lighter. Cyborg's was too. "…So we're good?"

' _Never was bad.'_

The robotic Titan smiled, nudging Beast Boy with his shoulder. "Thanks man. I'll make this up to you, 'kay? I promise."

* * *

"Robin, come on! We can spare one day! We owe this to him!"

Raven passed by the ops room, unable to block out Cyborg's resonant voice as it echoed under the doors and out into the hall. Robin's emotions clashed with the robotic Titan's, but neither was angry, just in discord. Raven decided to leave them to their business, and continued down the corridor.

It had taken just three days for the loss of Beast Boy's voice to explode all over the tower. In truth, she'd expected it to happen after about a week if Beast Boy's problem hadn't been resolved by then. Raven turned a corner and walked down the stairs. But it would've happened either way. Everyone was stressed, even if Beast Boy had it the worst, and their emotions needed to be channeled somehow. Raven was lucky enough her meditation prevented that from happening with her, but that didn't mean when Robin and Cyborg clashed she wasn't affected.

After Cyborg had left to talk with Beast Boy, Raven had seized the opportunity to clear her mind in her room. During her meditation and once Cyborg had headed back inside, she sensed Robin and Starfire separately approach Beast Boy as well. No doubt the former had given his apology after trying to find his way around confessing the words in a professional manner before abandoning the pretense and saying he was sorry. The latter had most likely wished to know if Beast Boy was alright, and then offered her sweet encouraging words.

Beast Boy didn't need any more comforting; he needed his daily healing session, and that was what Raven was going to do right then. She stepped outside, allowing the tower door to close behind her as she felt for Beast Boy's presence. He hadn't left the rocks yet.

Lifting his head, Beast Boy glanced over his shoulder, his eyes connecting with hers deep beneath her hood. His green orbs smiled, and he signaled for her to come over. She paced closer and lowered herself to sit cross-legged on his right. "I haven't had a chance to heal you yet today."

The green teenager nodded, balancing his pad of paper on his lap. He scooted to face her, and Raven noted in vague interest that he had been trying to draw the waves. No wonder he had remained outdoors for so long.

"Stay still," she instructed, her hands lighting up with a soft glow as she reached for him. Beast Boy closed his eyes in content as Raven concentrated on the damage to his vocal cords. He still had some rips, but the soreness had calmed. Inhaling smoke hadn't helped at all though.

After several quiet minutes of mending with an ocean soundtrack in the background, Raven withdrew her hands from Beast Boy's neck and sat back with a tired exhale. "It's getting there," she said, catching the question in her teammate's expression. He pouted comically, but his emotions offered a slightly different message.

"You will get your voice back, you know." Raven almost rolled her eyes at herself. "I'm certain everyone else has said the exact same thing to you, but we're just that sure."

Beast Boy relaxed his expression, dipping his head. Raven was becoming the easiest to talk to out of all the Titans since his writing skills weren't required every single time someone said something. He felt surprised at how well she picked up on his randomness. But some phrases were difficult to put into charades, and spelling it out was the quicker option.

' _Thanks. It's not that bad thou I guess. Isn't there something about how losing one sense strengthens the others?'_ He did his best to spell everything correctly.

Raven shook her head. "Speaking isn't a sense, Beast Boy." His response was a grin for Raven to ignore. She looked away from him out over the ocean; a little more than an hour remained until the bottom of the sun touched the sea-green surface water. "Did you come up with a decision as to what you want to do?" They both knew what subject she was addressing.

What Beast Boy wanted to do was pretend the whole thing never happened. His pencil moved slowly. _'I don't know what the right answer is.'_

"It's not about what the right answer is. It's about what you want and what you think you can handle."

' _What can I?'_

"I'm not the one who knows that."

Beast Boy took his turn to stare out at the sea. Of course she wouldn't know. Only he knew, and he didn't want to think about it right then. But what could he handle? Obviously not a coughing attack if he was to judge by the events of the last few days, but then again, Raven _had_ said that he'd been able to finish his job. He'd gotten everyone out of the bottom floor -except himself and the little girl- and then Raven had helped him out. More like saved his butt, but that was beside the point. Maybe he could still fight, and would just call someone for help if he needed it? Raven was already kind of assigned to keep an eye on him, and the Titans always watched each other's backs. He really didn't want to sit out missions, no matter how much he liked the idea of a vacation. Without his friends taking a break with him, he felt like he was cheating or something, and he was also pretty certain he'd get super bored sitting in the tower by himself all the time. And no one wanted a bored Beast Boy.

Then again, he also didn't want to rely on his teammates too much. If they got caught paying too much attention to him in a battle, someone could get distracted and hurt. But if he didn't go on missions, wouldn't the team be weaker, and then his friends could get hurt anyway? Beast Boy covered his face with his hands. Suddenly the reason to Cyborg and Robin's argument was making a whole lot more sense.

"You don't have to make a decision right now." Raven interrupted his thoughts, sensing the turmoil within.

With a tired sigh of silence, Beast Boy rocked back to watch a wave crawl up the rocks an inch or so before retreating. He rubbed his lower neck. It hurt, but mostly from the lump in his throat. The whole situation wouldn't exist if it wasn't for his stupid disability. He wanted to talk again so much he ached.

' _I want my voice back…'_

Raven read the sentence. "As much as you might want that, it's not one of your options right now."

Beast Boy bit his lip. _'Heal me. I want my voice back.'_

"I've already explained that I can't."

Beast Boy shook his head, grabbing her hands and holding them to his neck, his green eyes pleading with her and fingers pressing into her skin. Raven withdrew her arms, and a flicker of emotional hurt jumped from Beast Boy. What _was_ he thinking? Could she heal him all in one go if she really tried? Raven had said in the beginning that healing drained her, but in what way?

"Beast Boy, if I try to heal you…" Raven's mouth twisted down, and she paused for a second. "When I heal someone, I draw their pain and injury into myself. If I attempted to heal you in one session, all I would do is exhaust myself into unconsciousness and possibly damage my own esophagus." Raven crossed her legs. She wasn't being selfish by taking the time to ensure her vocal cords' good health; she was being rational. What was the point of healing someone's voice if it only made someone else unable to speak? Beast Boy was not helping by staring at her with such a wide and shocked expression. "Spacing out the healing in the pattern we've created will allow me to recover while allowing you to eventually regain your voice. But if you really can't stand not having a voice anymore, I'll do everything I can to heal you right now." The girl angled her head toward the water, faintly surprised by her own words.

Something in her stomach jumped when Beast Boy reached forward and brushed his fingertips against her neck. His eyelids lowered faintly, a breeze of concern flowing out of him. With his free hand, he cut across his throat. "My throat did hurt for a while after healing your initial injury," she admitted, "but considering what you went through, my complaint was nothing." The words that left her lips were calm. "Do you want me to heal you?"

Beast Boy shook his head in a negative motion. He didn't miss the corner of Raven's mouth twitch. "If you're sure." She earned a nod in response, and her indigo eyes smiled at him. Beast Boy beamed back, and Raven's expression shifted into something more difficult to read. "Beast Boy, I can't promise that I can take the pain away or bring your voice back. I've never tried to restore someone's voice before, but there's no reason I shouldn't be able to given enough time. But you can know I won't stop trying." She searched his face for understanding and found it. "Thank you."

The feeling Beast Boy had experienced back after his second coughing fit hadn't made another appearance so far. There'd been no return of the peculiar building in his chest after Raven had healed him, and so maybe the issue had been a fluke, or not even an issue at all. He'd figured he'd probably been overtired. He did sleep like thirteen hours the next day, not that that was anything new.

And yet the tightness returned to him when Beast Boy touched his thumb against his lips and then brushed it over the side of Raven's neck. However, the squeeze in his chest was not nearly as stifling as the heat in his face. It didn't help that he had no idea why he was doing what he was doing. What _was_ he doing? The bizarre feeling needed to go away, right then and there preferably since now he had to deal with Raven was staring at him with the blankest expression he'd ever seen her wear. And he'd witnessed a few impressive emotionless slates before. Seriously, the pressure needed to leave. It made his lungs feel like they were continually filling without a limit, as if his chest had transformed into space itself and could hold everything which apparently included a ton of bubbles that had thrown a dance party behind his ribs.

Raven blinked. "…Thank me?"

The empath sounded so unsure, but Beast Boy grabbed the metaphorical lifeline and hung on, nodding quickly and retracting his hand in an instant. Rubbing his shoulder, the pad found its way into his palm. Unable to think of anything to say, but wanting to make it seem like he wasn't losing his mind, Beast Boy drew a gigantic smiley face.

Raven rolled her eyes, her tone no longer pitched. "Whatever." She rose to her feet, and relief calmed Beast Boy. Raven was just passing it off as his usual weirdness, and she could leave him with the hard job of figuring out what had really happened. "I'm going to meditate."

Waving as she retreated, Beast Boy sucked in a deep breath. Great, suddenly there were two issues he didn't want to address: the question of going on missions, and whatever it was that had just happened. At least the tightness was fading. For some reason though, he wasn't as unsettled as the first time. He didn't _think_ it was dangerous to his health. The annoying bubbles in his chest had felt contradictorily nice. And for some reason Beast Boy didn't get, he missed the stupid strange feeling.

A groan vibrated in his chest, never making it past his vocal cords, and Beast Boy flopped backwards onto the rocks to stare at a painted sky, colored like a canvas by the setting sun.

* * *

Only Beast Boy could make Raven meditate twice in one day, and within but a measly few hours after her first session. The dark sorceress walked down the corridor toward her quarters, lost in her thoughts. His actions were befuddling, but his own confusion puzzled her the most. Raven massaged her temple, stopping when she detected someone nearby. She extended her senses, noting that Robin and Starfire occupied the ops room and Cyborg was turning a corner ahead of her.

The robotic Titan lit up upon seeing Raven, and he threw a few sentences at her in excitement before she allowed him to pull her back toward the main room.


	5. A Day Out

**I was hit with a wave of superb, kind, and fantastic reviews these last few weeks, and I am extremely grateful to everyone for the encouragement and praise. I am also shocked at the amount of follows this story has. Over 200 follows on a 4 (now 5) chapter story is beyond amazing, and I have to say thank you so much to everyone. Your responses make me really happy, and I'm glad to know you all are enjoying the story so much.**

 **Alright, here's the next chapter; you guys deserve it! Enjoy!**

* * *

The next day Beast Boy stirred far too early for his taste. The sun's rays peeked through the window rather than flooded his room as they did during noon, and the fresh smell of morning filled the air. The shape-shifter kicked at his blankets, blinking sleep away. Smacking his lips together, he ran his tongue across his teeth and then yawned. A knock pounded on his door. Oh yeah. He knew something had woken him up.

With a lazy swing of his arm, Beast Boy tossed his pillow at the door in response and then rolled over onto his stomach to flop his face into the mattress. All he wanted to do was sleep. Last night after Raven left, the shape-shifter had returned to his room and lay awake for several hours. Life was so much simpler when he could sleep his problems away, preferably past noon. He huffed air into the cushion.

An explosion of trumpets thundered through the wall all at once, startling Beast Boy off of his bed. Taking a second to recover, he tuned in to the song playing behind his door in time to hear a British accent singing, "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts!"

His frown was almost as large as an upside-down horseshoe when the doors opened to reveal Cyborg and his other teammates standing in the entryway. The song was blasting from a set of speakers built into Cyborg's arms, and, noticing that Beast Boy was wide awake and sitting on the floor, the robotic Titan pressed a button. The music stopped. "Good mornin'!"

What Beast Boy wouldn't have given for a coconut to fall out of the air right then and there. Preferably on Cyborg. The rest of his friends removed their fingers from their ears and squeezed inside the cluttered space. Beast Boy crossed his arms across his green chest. If they wanted to walk in on him wearing just the bottom half of his uniform, that was their problem.

Raven's monotone filled the room. "I think he wants to know if you thought that was funny."

Cyborg grinned. "Sure was!" He dodged the pillow thrown at him, snickering. "Sorry, sorry, man! But hey, I didn't wake you up only 'cause I wanted a good laugh."

His best friend did seem in better spirits than yesterday. Beast Boy flipped his hand in a motion indicating for Cyborg to continue.

"We are goin'-," –Cyborg paused for unsuccessful dramatic effect-, "-to take the day off!"

Beast Boy stared for a moment, and then covered his mouth. Holding in a laugh was more difficult than trying not to talk. Starfire laid her hand on Cyborg's shoulder. "It would appear he does not believe you."

The shape-shifter transformed into a robin and then back. Raven translated. "He doesn't believe Robin would let us have a day off."

Now Robin's mouth turned down. "That's because it's not a day off." His expression relaxed. "It's a day out."

"To the arcade!" Cyborg jumped in. Beast Boy's face lit up. "And there's so much more than that, BB. I've got the whole day planned. You need a break from all this stress and from us bein' stupid, and so we're just gonna have fun today. It's a relaxation day! No bad guys, no nothin'." He smiled at Beast Boy's beaming expression. "I told you I'd make up for it, man."

Beast Boy pumped his fist in the air, leaping to his feet and shooing everyone out of his room. A few seconds later, he emerged with a clean uniform and a big smile on his face. Cyborg looked just as elated, and the larger Titan began chatting away about the events he'd prearranged. Robin followed them, but Raven and Starfire hung behind. The empath walked into Beast Boy's room, returning moments afterwards with his forgotten pad of paper and a pen. "He'll remember eventually," she stated, and Starfire smiled at her.

* * *

The first stop was the arcade which went about as well as expected. Beast Boy and Cyborg tried their luck at random machines and battled it out on others. Robin introduced Starfire to a dancing game, and she somehow topped the highest score. Raven stood in the corner at first until Beast Boy and Cyborg convinced her to watch them play. After that, she trailed the duo until the grumbling of their stomachs interrupted an electronic battle.

The Titans concluded their time at the arcade and then headed off to the Pizza Corner for a large vegetarian pizza. Cyborg didn't even complain he was so excited from the successful video game session, and even more thrilled that no villains had decided to interrupt it. If a criminal did decided to strike, the plan was for Robin and one or two other Titans to disappear and deal with the problem before returning. Robin couldn't grant the team a day off since "crime never rests" but he did agree to try Cyborg's suggestion of a fun outing. Cyborg didn't understand the difference between an outing and a day off, but he'd got what he wanted and that was what mattered.

Beast Boy stuffed the remainder of his pizza into his mouth, patting his belt. A look of confusion flickered over his face.

"Forget something?" Raven handed him his pad of paper, and he smiled in response.

' _So where we going next?'_

Cyborg read the page and then patted his green teammate's back. "It's up to you, BB." Beast Boy looked up in surprise, causing Cyborg to chuckle. "Yeah, I know I said the whole day was planned, but I also planned to let you decide what to do."

Nodding, Beast Boy gulped down the rest of his water. Raven had advised against his first choice of soda which would irritate his throat. Where did he want to go…? He glanced behind him. The Titans were sitting in their usual spot on the triangular rooftop, and from his seat, Beast Boy could survey the entire street. A bleached building he hadn't noticed before caught his eye. He tugged on Cyborg's arm, pointing and then scratching his head.

"What's up?" Cyborg followed Beast Boy's line of sight.

"The ice rink." Everyone glanced at Robin. He swallowed his bite of pizza. "You might know about it if you read the newspaper once in a while. It just opened last month."

Beast Boy bounced up and down in his seat. He'd never gone ice skating before!

"I think he wants to go," Raven observed in a dry voice.

Several minutes later, the Titans found themselves inside the white structure. The small room in the entrance was tall and cement gray, and a pair of double doors close by led to a huge oval covered in ice. Rows of empty bleachers surrounded the arena, and the rink had two openings on either side. At the moment, no citizens were present aside from the person behind the greeting desk who collected their money and showed the Titans to their ice skates. Robin and Cyborg were both experienced in the sport; Robin apparently was just good at everything, and Cyborg mentioned something about hockey a very long time ago. After some digging, a pair of shoes big enough to fit his metal feet was found, and the Titans took to the ice.

Robin chose to help teach Starfire, and Cyborg went to train Beast Boy. Raven practiced on her own. Once everyone seemed to get the hang of it, they switched the groups up, and before long the teenagers were gliding around the ice rink at different speeds.

Beast Boy leaned forward, flying past Robin and nearly crashing into Raven. She slipped to the side, and Beast Boy bounced off the wall. He spread his legs out under him to regain his balance, smiling at her.

Her eyebrow tilted up. "Enjoying yourself?"

He nodded, spinning once and then falling on his butt. Raven held out her hand, and, as Beast Boy grasped it, he noticed the blades on her shoes. Empty space separated her skates and the ice. She was floating! That was totally cheating! Raven pulled him up, and the boy whipped his finger toward her feet, the edge of his mouth curving into a scolding line.

Raven glanced down at her feet and then back up. "You caught me."

Beast Boy placed his hands on his hips, sliding a little. He pointed at the ground, and, with a sigh, Raven lowered herself until her blades stuck in the ice. "There, happy?" Beast Boy shook his head, his hair bouncing. "What?"

He motioned to Raven, and then skated in a circle around the girl, gliding to a stop in front of her.

"You want me to actually learn how to skate." Beast Boy grinned in response, and Raven exhaled. "I'd rather not."

The green boy before her rolled his eyes and grabbed her hands, beginning to tug her further down the ice. Raven tensed as she slid about an inch, and pulled back at once. "Fine, just," she said, finding her center, "show me how instead of dragging me out."

A beam shone on Beast Boy's face, and he positioned himself next to her, straightening his arms out to the side and flapping them. Raven straightened. "If you're not going to be serious-." Shaking his head, Beast Boy gestured toward her and then Robin who was skating by Cyborg. "…Be like a bird? Pretend I'm a bird? …Pretend I'm flying?"

He gave her two thumbs up before bending his knees a little and holding out his hands for balance. Raven mirrored him. Beast Boy nodded in encouragement, inclining forward with one foot extended ahead of him. Raven attempted to do the same, leaned too far, and would have face-planted on the ice had she not caught herself with her powers. The second try she was saved by the rink's wall. The third time was only somewhat her fault; Starfire flew past and accidentally bumped Raven's arm, sending the empath skidding forward.

Irritated, Raven floated up. Beast Boy slipped back beside her, his lips pressed together thoughtfully. He situated himself into his earlier stance, encouraging Raven to copy him again, and then held out a hand for her to stay still. Wearing a curious expression, the boy slid in front and crossed his arms, studying her position before inhaling and breathing out slowly. He did it again twice, and Raven imitated him. Beast Boy skated nearer, taking ahold of her hand and massaging the center of her palm. Raven squinted at him and then understood. She needed to ease up. It was a weird way of telling her, but he did have the good excuse that he wasn't able to speak.

"Alright. Relax," the dark Titan commanded herself aloud. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos." She felt her body calming. Beast Boy smiled and began pulling her forward at a gentle pace, somehow skating backwards without falling, and Raven followed him, appreciating the slow speed he set for her. Thanks to his guidance, she managed to skate straight the full length of the rink until Beast Boy released her at the end. Considering she was going less than one mile an hour, there was nothing she should've been worried about. Bumping into a wall wasn't that bad. Wobbling was expected. Falling was embarrassing.

Raven tried to turn, bounced against the side of the rink, and her feet slipped out from under her. This time she didn't react fast enough to catch herself and landed on her side, barely cushioned by the cape that she'd elected to keep on. Beast Boy bladed over, concern written on his face, but Raven waved him away.

"That was intentional," she stated with conviction. Beast Boy grinned as Raven attempted to stand, losing either her balance or footing with every try, but eventually managing to stay upright after far too much effort. The girl exhaled and captured her teammate's laughing eyes with her own. "So was that," she added.

Beast Boy bobbed his head in agreement, but the big smirk on his face wouldn't go away. Raven scowled at him, although she refused to move towards the boy due to her suspicion that the ice was still slippery. Holding out his hand and smiling, Beast Boy lifted his eyebrows at her. Raven sighed and accepted his offer.

He tugged her behind him again, showing her how to curve on the ice when they came to the other end of the rink. Raven felt slightly more accomplished when she didn't fall that time, but then Beast Boy let go of her after the turn. She had no idea how to stop and ended up gliding several feet past Beast Boy. She was lucky he caught up with her fast. However, when he grabbed her arm, the skinny boy lost his balance and fell, bringing Raven down with him.

"Ow."

Beast Boy flipped his head to the side, grinning in apology. Raven glanced back at the boy lying on his back next to her. "You could've saved yourself the humiliation. I can fall just fine without your help."

Flapping his hand at her in dismissal, the shape-shifter pushed himself to his feet, very nearly doing the splits before he dug his skates into the ice to stop from sliding. Raven needed a few more minutes than he did, but she made it up without scraping her skin on the cold floor again. "I think that's all I can handle today."

Raven dusted snow off of her cloak, pretending not to see Beast Boy's pout, when his whole face suddenly lit up. He glided out of the arena, holding his hands out to Raven, and, deciding to humor him, the empath waited. She saw the boy remove his ice skates, shove his normal shoes back on, and head to an entrance of the rink. He morphed into a penguin and threw himself onto the ice, slipping straight across and almost tripping Cyborg. The robotic Titan laughed as Beast Boy somehow angled his direction around and ended the slide in front of Raven where he hopped up and waddled over. He flapped his flippers at her.

"You're even more difficult to understand as a penguin, you know," Raven expressed, crossing her arms. Falling on his stomach again, Beast Boy shuffled his feet and began kicking forward down the ice, picking up speed as he went. Soon he wasn't pushing himself anymore and, with a flick of his flipper, spun around in a circle down the rest of the rink. He came to a slow stop at the end where the green penguin rose and stumbled around dizzily. After the world ceased its spinning, he threw his flippers in the air and did it again.

Maybe he didn't want her to do anything. Maybe he just wanted to have fun. Maybe he just wanted Raven to have fun. She wouldn't admit it, but the day had been more enjoyable than expected, considering she'd been to the arcade and fallen on her butt several times in less than an hour. Beast Boy bumped against the wall next to her, shaking his head as he bounced off it. Lifting his head, he peered up at her and then transformed into a polar bear.

Raven looked at the greeting desk behind the clear double doors. The person there had his head buried in his phone. "I don't think pets are allowed in here, Beast Boy. Or animals of any kind for that matter, especially massive green bears."

Obviously Beast Boy couldn't care less. Shuffling forward, he nudged his cold nose against her knee, and Raven glared at him as she slid backwards against her will. If polar bears could grin, Beast Boy certainly was. Wearing his funny smile, he scooted around her and bumped against the back of her legs. Raven leaned forward, trying to keep from being knocked into again, but he moved closer. Frowning, Raven glided a few inches away again. They repeated the process until Raven found herself on the opposite end of the rink. Miraculously she hadn't fallen once.

Starfire skated over. She looked like a natural on the ice. "Friends! I am enjoying this activity very much!" The alien princess beamed at Raven and Beast Boy. "Would you perhaps like to accompany me in the race?"

"Pass," Raven declared at once. Beast Boy was bouncing on his paws. "But Beast Boy looks like he's up for it."

With a playful shake of his head, the shape-shifter bounded over to the exit, changed into human, jostled his skates on again, and then glided out onto the ice. Starfire laughed, and the two took off.

Cyborg bladed up to Raven, wearing a grin. "Did you get bit by the happy bug too?" she asked, monotone.

"So BB's also enjoyin' himself?"

Raven watched Beast Boy crouch down to pick up speed as Starfire skated ahead of him. "What do you think? I've got a headache there's so much happiness in here."

Cyborg chuckled. "Don't tell me you aren't enjoyin' this. I saw you entertainin' BB for a while."

"That's not the word I'd use to describe it."

"Well, it was entertainin' the rest of us," he chortled, patting her on the back.

Raven's eye twitched. "You really had nothing better to do than watch me fall on the ice for the past fifteen minutes?"

She and Cyborg slanted back as Starfire and Beast Boy zoomed past them. The robotic Titan hummed happily. "Nope! I thought it was pretty great, and Star was gigglin' 'bout how cute it was or somethin'." Raven regarded him with a narrowed eyebrow, but Cyborg seemed not to notice. "But Rob was too distracted by little graceful over there to pay much attention to ya'll."

Raven grunted. Beast Boy had managed to pull ahead of Starfire at the last minute, and he threw his arms up in the air in victory before slamming into the side of the rink. Although he was rubbing his rear, the bright grin on his face had yet to vanish. Starfire laughed and helped him stand, congratulating him on a "job done the well".

Robin skated up to Raven and Cyborg. "I think it's time we head back to the tower."

Cyborg nodded, exclaiming, "Alright! Ready for the last part of the surprise?!"

"You do know he's standing right there," Raven reminded in a bored tone as Beast Boy and Starfire slid into the group. Thankfully Starfire had been talking to the shape-shifter so he hadn't overheard.

Robin cleared his throat. "We're returning to the tower. Everyone ready to go?" He received affirmation from his friends, and the Titans left the rink. Raven didn't miss Cyborg's enthusiastic expression as they entered the car.

* * *

Beast Boy flopped down on the gray sofa in the ops room, exhaling in content. Various muscles ached from the ice skating, but soreness was welcome when it came from such an enjoyable activity. All of his friends looked like they'd had fun too. Even Robin had to be cheerful; after all, ice skating was as good as a workout for the team, and their leader did seem to love assigning training as often as possible. The only person's happiness the green boy had questioned at first was Raven's, but after he taught her how to ice skate –or tried anyway-, he'd caught flickers of pleasure in her eyes. Since she'd learned how to read him so well, it only made sense that he'd be able to return the favor.

"Don't get too comfortable, BB," Cyborg warned, dropping down next to his best friend. Beast Boy looked at him in confusion, causing the bigger Titan to chuckle. "Your surprises aren't done yet!"

Beast Boy sat up eagerly. There was more?

The robotic Titan called over his shoulder. "Star, if you don't mind?"

"Of course, friend Cyborg!" Starfire ducked behind the couch, Robin and Raven walking around on either side of it to join Beast Boy and Cyborg. The redhead popped back up, beaming happily and holding two colorfully wrapped boxes in her hands. Beast Boy pointed at the presents, turned his head to Cyborg, and then gestured back at himself.

Cyborg accepted one of the gifts when Starfire offered it to him. "Yep, they're for you, BB! This is our last way of sayin' we're sorry for bein' stupid."

Beast Boy's face lit up like a Christmas tree: green, bright, and with a faint glow of red on his cheeks. Holding his hands out, the boy waggled his fingertips toward the presents much like a child would during the winter holiday.

"Actually," Robin interrupted, "I'd like to go first." Surprised, Beast Boy folded his legs underneath him and faced his leader. The spikey-haired teenager held out his hand and unraveled his fingers to reveal a slightly worn communicator in his palm. Robin watched the smaller boy take it, confusion pressing his eyebrows together. "Raven mentioned that you'd lost yours while getting people out of the building yesterday. I found some time last night to go back and find it for you. Sorry I didn't wrap it," he added, a trace of humor in his voice.

Beast Boy had forgotten he'd lost it. He lifted the device up, wearing a sheepish smile and nodding in thanks. Robin dipped his head in response.

"My turn!" Cyborg jumped in. His enthusiasm was infectious, and Beast Boy bounced toward his best friend. The paper ripped apart, and what lay beneath left Beast Boy pleasantly surprised. "It's a drawin' pad!" Cyborg declared as the green boy flipped through the blank pages. "I saw that you were drawin' those waves yesterday on that tiny lined paper, and thought, hey, he could use somethin' better!"

"Is this where my gift does the coming in?" Starfire asked before Beast Boy could react. She received encouragement and offered her present which was quickly torn into. Beast Boy tossed the wrapping paper aside and grasped a box of new lead pencils and a second set of colored ones. Starfire clapped her hands as she saw the grin on Beast Boy's face. "Cyborg suggested I should purchase these so to accompany his gift! I am quite glad to see that you like them!"

The green teenager slid off the couch to give her and Cyborg each a hug, and then he turned to Raven. Her indigo eyes were dark beneath her hood as she unceremoniously held out a single undecorated pen. Beast Boy accepted the utensil, pretty sure he'd seen the same pen sitting out on the counter the night before. "Cyborg came up with this idea yesterday," Raven explained in a drawl tone. "It was a last minute thing."

Beast Boy just shrugged at her, ignoring the twinge of disappointment in his chest. All the gifts he'd gotten throughout the day hadn't been expected at all, and he was happy enough as it was. Presenting Raven two thumbs up, he returned to the couch to inspect his new presents.

* * *

Several hours later, after the Titans had eaten supper and settled down for the rest of the day, Raven found Beast Boy filling up the first page of his sketchpad on the table in the ops room. The notebook's size was considerably larger than the tiny thing he'd been using before, and so Beast Boy had quite a large white space to fill up. His new pencils and, surprisingly, the pen Raven had grabbed from the counter a while earlier were placed beside his paper for later use.

Beast Boy lifted his eyebrows in greeting as she sat down beside him, but didn't look away from his drawing. At the moment, the picture appeared to be the head of a great white shark. Raven suppressed a smirk. "A thank you picture for Cyborg?"

Her answer came as a nod, and Beast Boy tightened his face in concentration before inhaling and exhaling deeply through his nose. He blinked a few times, tipping back from the illustration, and regarded Raven with a tired expression. She didn't blame him. The day had been long, and everyone else was in their room either relaxing or already asleep. The sun had set a few hours ago.

Raven caught his inquiring glance. "I didn't get the chance to heal you today," she explained, and he bobbed his head, leaning closer to her. The sorceress pressed her palms to both sides of her teammate's neck, and the following few minutes passed in silence save for the crackling of magic in the air.

She released him once her arms felt heavy, and Beast Boy blinked his eyes open, realizing he'd been nodding off. Scrunching his face, the boy massaged his shoulder with one hand. Raven waited until he had finished, and then rose from her chair. "Come with me."

Ears perking with curiosity, Beast Boy's sleepiness dropped into the back of his mind as he closed the sketch pad and stood up. Tucking his notebook and drawing utensils under one arm, the boy walked behind Raven until she reached her sleeping quarters. Now Beast Boy hesitated. Had she forgotten he was there? Or maybe he'd fallen asleep and imagined her telling him to follow her? There was no way she would have him go inside her room.

Raven had already paced several feet past the forbidden threshold. She glimpsed over her shoulder at him. "You can stand there all night if you want, or you can let me give you your real present."

Those were the magic words. Disregarding any fears, Beast Boy entered, and the door slid shut behind him. Approaching her nightstand, Raven motioned behind her at the floor, and Beast Boy obeyed. He scooted around until he felt comfortable on the carpet, and then Raven joined him. She sat cross-legged across from him, facing her bed as he leaned back against it.

"No, I didn't go out and buy you any gifts," she started, "but there aren't any stores where you can purchase this." Raven tugged his arm up away from his side, and placed a hand mirror in it. Immediately Beast Boy inclined way back, recognizing the small object. The last time he'd held the thing, he and Cyborg were sucked through a portal into Raven's mind where he'd met several physical manifestations of her emotions. Raven just rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, I've taken precautions to make certain you won't be visiting my head again anytime soon."

Beast Boy dropped his shoulders and tried to dispel the alarm that was churning about his stomach. He peered up at his friend, tilting his head to the side in question as he looked between Raven and her mirror.

"Just hold still and don't drop my mirror," Raven instructed, spreading her fingers out over the glass. Her eyes shimmered with white light, and her hand shone. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."

A faint glow cooled the air between her palm and the mirror, and a sweet scent drafted throughout the room. Beast Boy's emotions flickered with surprise, but he did not move away. Raven dipped her head, and the magic in her orbs and fingers faded. "I read about this recently in one of my books. I assumed that it might help me if I'm having trouble meditating, but then I thought of you."

The two watched as the air, now filled with the scent of lilacs, swirled overhead. Floating dust particles highlighted themselves, shades of faint indigo appearing above Raven, and light orange-yellow above Beast Boy. The colors shifted continuously, lightening sections of the air and darkening others. Beast Boy lifted the hand not holding the mirror, and batted at the colors. The particles swirled around his gloved fingers.

His lips moved toward Raven in a mute inquiry, his eyes never leaving the display.

Raven observed him. "You've never been one with a great vocabulary, but now that you aren't allowed to use any at all, I found a way for you to express yourself otherwise." She gestured to the colors. "This is the visible form of someone's emotions; we can see exactly what we are both feeling right now."

Beast Boy reached up, waving his hand, and the colors altered to move around his arm. The hues changed again, this time into deep gold. He turned to Raven curiously.

"Yellow most commonly means knowledgeable, but if you can see the lighter moving shades, that also means inquisitiveness." Beast Boy's eyes lit up, and a streak of pink striped the gold. "So yes, you're being smart," Raven added, lowering her eyelids a fraction.

Next he pointed at the rosy band in the air above him. Raven sighed. "I don't know most of the colors. I've done this once before in my spare time, and the most I learned was yellow and blue. Blue is calm," she continued before the wonder could even appear on Beast Boy's face.

Beast Boy pointed at her rich indigo hues, blue mixed with dark purple, and Raven lifted her shoulders to shake her head. "I don't know yet."

The green teenager glanced around for his sketchpad and found it. _'You can sense emotions, right? Why do you need to see them?'_

"I don't necessarily need to," Raven replied, secretly a little pleased at Beast Boy's intelligent inquiry. She liked to think she was rubbing off on him sometimes. "I wanted you to be able to." The golden and pink hue shading the air above Beast Boy blended with violet. Raven wished she'd spent a few more minutes of time deciphering the emotions and their colors. Beast Boy returned his attention to the air above them.

"To be clear, I'm not allowing you inside my room whenever you want," Raven clarified. "You can come in only if you ask me first, and you can't use this all the time; it drains my mirror. I'd also rather you don't carry my mirror around with you." She was listing off quite a lot of rules. "But I thought that maybe this way you would be able to use colors to express yourself better. Starfire gave you those coloring pencils; you could use those." Raven cleared her throat softly. "And if you want to express yourself to one of us better, all you need to do is ask me and I'll activate the spell."

Beast Boy's smile shone bright in the dark of her room, and Raven was prepared when he scooted toward her with his thank-you hug. The smile on his face rounded up his cheeks as the boy released her, and then he leaned back against the base of her bed to peer up at the colors again. Raven waited with him for a moment before rising off of the floor. Beast Boy peered at her in question, the yellow in his air brightening.

She waved for him to stay sitting. "I'll be back in a few minutes. You can head back to your room when I return or you grow bored."

Beast Boy nodded, giving her two thumbs up, and then crossed his legs under him. Raven saw him reaching for the particles again before she exited her sleeping quarters and the door slid shut behind her.

Sometime later, Raven left the bathroom with wet purple hair, a damp towel, and a fresh uniform; she'd learned to sleep in her leotard thanks to the midnight alarms. Drying her locks, the girl headed to her bedroom. The need for a cleaning hadn't become apparent to Raven until she'd stepped into the bathroom, and so she had taken an impromptu five minute shower.

The empath stretched her senses ahead into her room where Beast Boy's presence yet remained. Apparently the pretty lights had proved entertaining enough to keep him there. Raven walked to her sleeping quarters and entered.

Beast Boy rested in the same place on the floor by the base of her bed, and the colors above him swirled in a strange mixture of ever changing light. His eyelids were shut, head drooped against his shoulder, and chest rising softly. The sketchpad rested in the palm of one hand while his other was rolled off to the side, Raven's mirror grasped in his loosely curled fingers. Raven closed the door behind her quietly.

Upon closer inspection, Raven discovered several colors shaded onto his paper. A few random words were written off to the side; he must've been sorting out what emotions paired with what colors. Kneeling beside him, she formed a mental reminder to ask him later what he'd deduced, and carefully slid the drawing pad off of his lap as well as her mirror out of his palm. She waved her hand over the glass, dispersing the spell, and the room darkened. Beast Boy shifted a tad, exhaling and smiling in his sleep.

Raven wasn't about to have him snoozing in her bedroom, even if it was on the floor. Especially if it was on the floor. Beast Boy belonged in his own bed. Setting his utensils to the side, Raven wrapped an arm around his shoulders and her other under his legs, and carefully picked him up off of her carpet. She groaned under her breath. His sturdy weight was misleading due to his short height. Beast Boy bent in somewhat, adjusting to the movement he couldn't be aware of, and turned his face into her shoulder. Raven frowned, her eyes glowing and forming a portal in front of her. The girl stepped back to nudge Beast Boy's paper and pencils into the magic gateway with her foot, following through moments later.

The two emerged in Beast Boy's room less than five feet from his bunk bed. Raven turned to the bottom mattress, stooping over it and taking care not to smack her head on the shelf above as she lowered the boy onto his sheets. She rolled Beast Boy onto his side and slipped her arms out from under him before she hesitated.

Touching his shoulder, Raven turned Beast Boy toward her and inspected his face. With each breath, some part of his expression or ears would twitch. He'd curled up into a crescent shape again, and his eyelids flickered to watch his dream take place. Once in a while a wince would sneak into the sleeping cycle, but then it'd disappear behind another twitch of his lips. Raven held her palm to the side of his neck. She could feel his pulse beating under her fingers as they began to glow.

The sorceress managed maybe a minute of healing before pain burned at her own neck and she was forced to release him. Raven calmed her heavy gasps, pinching the bridge of her nose. She couldn't heal him anymore that day, not until she'd meditated and rested, but she'd wanted to try. Yet the result was what she'd expected. The ache in her trachea wasn't fading nearly as quickly as Raven had hoped, and her hand dropped to her side. Her eyes fell on Beast Boy again. His position was unchanged.

She thought back to the previous night, and Raven rubbed her neck. She still had no idea what he'd been doing then, but neither had he. Beast Boy's emotions had been racing all over the place, much like her own thoughts. What was he thinking? Probably as much as usual. Raven scowled. Maybe it was best left unquestioned; she had enough to deal with at the moment. Raven stood and swallowed the sting in her throat. She picked up his pad and pencils, placed them on a desk nearby, and then teleported back into her bedroom.


	6. Mutual Understanding

"I don't like it." Robin scowled at the bright screen, his mouth turned down and fingers folded in front of his face. The Titans' leader sat close to the couch in front of the computer the morning after the team's relaxation day, contemplating his most recent problem. Starfire was the only other Titan in the ops room at the moment, and she glided over to Robin's side.

"What is it that you do not like?"

Robin glared at the monitor, paragraphs of information written on the display. "It's been too quiet these last few days. Overload is the only villain who has escaped despite the power outage. It doesn't feel right." If he was in the criminals' places, the lack of electricity would seem like the perfect time to strike, and yet nothing had happened.

Starfire placed her hand on his shoulder, causing Robin to angle toward her. "Robin, am I correct in saying that we cannot receive alerts anymore? The police cannot 'patch the dis' information to us because they are not getting any calls from civilians."

Sitting back, Robin realized she was right. With the power lines down thanks to Overload, no one could call the police for help, and thus the law enforcement had nothing to relay to the Titans. "I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner!" Robin stood up, clenching his fists. "Who knows how many villains have escaped from jail?! We have to get out there right away!" Starfire withdrew her arm and tapped her index fingers together nervously.

"But Robin…" Her quiet voice slowed the leader's haste. "Perhaps we should wait until our friends have awakened. And we have not yet heard Beast Boy's decision concerning whether he wishes to join us on missions or not."

"…We haven't."

Robin dropped down in the center of the sofa, clenching his fingers around his knees. "I can't believe I forgot about that. Yesterday went so well I just assumed everything was resolved." He lifted his head toward Starfire. "Where is he?" Before the girl could answer, the doors to the main room opened to allow the subject of their conversation inside. Beast Boy spotted Robin and Starfire, waved at the pair, and then headed into the kitchen with a smile. Robin exchanged a glance with Starfire, and then pushed off of the couch. "Good afternoon, Beast Boy."

Beast Boy grinned again, withdrawing a box of cereal and bowl from the cupboard. Tossing his breakfast-for-lunch items on the counter, the teen opened the refrigerator door, and Robin advanced. "We need to do a full sweep of the city today. I have reason to believe there are several villains on the loose."

Nodding, Beast Boy removed a soy milk carton from a shelf to pour on his cereal, and then threw it back inside the fridge. Next he opened one of the kitchen cabinets, stopping when he saw Raven's tea packages, wearing a contemplative and then decisive expression. Robin realized he was only being half listened to. "What are you doing, Beast Boy?"

The box of tea bags landed in front of the Titans' leader, and Beast Boy transformed into a raven. "Where's Raven?" Robin guessed. Beast Boy shifted into his human form, dipping his head in confirmation. "I think she's in her room. But listen-."

Robin was interrupted by the loud crunch of the cereal shoved inside Beast Boy's mouth as he found a clean mug and filled it with water. "Beast Boy, did you ever decide whether or not you wanted to fight with the team?" Robin asked, watching the green teen inspect the tiny print on the side of the tea box. "We'll need your help, but if you don't feel like it's a good idea to go on missions, I'll understand that. I do need an answer though, and as soon as possible so we can-. Why are you trying to prepare tea?"

Beast Boy was watching the water heating in his cup. He'd elected to use the microwave instructions seeing as Raven probably wouldn't appreciate his using her kettle. Especially when he didn't know how. The boy withdrew the small pad of paper from his belt to respond; he had kept it since his drawing pad was a little bigger than practical to carry around. _'Raven said tea helps my throat not get infected.'_

Robin's white mask shifted in surprise. "Alright. But as I was saying." Beast Boy stood on his tiptoes to reach in the far back of another cabinet to find the honey bottle. Robin cleared his throat, and the shape-shifter pointed at the sticky container and then his neck. Honey would be good for his voice as well. Robin opened his mouth again to speak, but his tongue didn't even form the words before the ops room doors parted again and Raven entered. Beast Boy brightened.

"Good morning," she responded to his silent emotional salutation. Her sights landed on the tea box and then back on the shape-shifter. "I see."

The microwaved beeped, and Beast Boy grabbed his mug's handle, grinning and then holding the cup out to her for judgement. The empath approached slowly, inspecting the brown liquid. Her chest rising and falling as the steam filled her nose, her indigo eyes swayed across the drink and then over the rim to look at Beast Boy.

"Yes." Beast Boy was beaming. "You used honey?" He nodded, and there was a brief silence between them before Raven spoke again. "Yes. It's fine."

"Excuse me." Raven and Beast Boy faced Robin who appeared a little less inquiring than Starfire, which wasn't saying much. The two had been watching their exchange with lost expressions. "Care to explain?"

Raven lifted an eyebrow. "Explain?"

Starfire inhaled. "Oh, perhaps Raven has learned how to do the reading of the minds! That is how they are doing the communicating with one another!"

Now it was Raven and Beast Boy's turn to stare blankly. A moment passed, and then Beast Boy slowly lifted his cup to his lips to take a loud sip. Raven's mouth shifted. "Starfire, I can't and never have been able to read minds."

"Then how is it you were able to understand Beast Boy so well without speaking aloud?"

The pieces clicked together in Raven's head. "You know that I can sense feelings. I've mentioned before that is how I am able to interpret his emotions."

Doubt wrinkled Robin's forehead. "But this well?" For some reason neither he nor Raven could figure out, Starfire seemed elated. She grasped Robin's arm, her emerald eyes shining.

"Perhaps you have not been paying much of the attention, Robin!" the alien princess exclaimed, and Raven felt humor flicker within herself and Beast Boy. The young detective, however, did not look amused at Starfire's comment, but she still continued. "Do you not remember how much of the fun they were having yesterday while at the rink of ice? Or how close they have become these last few days? Or how much-."

Raven angled her body away from the couple, tuning out her teammate as she wasn't sure what Starfire was talking about. She'd forgotten the others were unable to sense Beast Boy's emotions as she could, and thus Robin and Starfire couldn't respond to his change in feelings or realize how badly Beast Boy had wanted to know he'd crafted the tea right. For the life of her, Raven wasn't sure why making tea was so important to him, or why he had wanted her approval for the use of honey, but at least she could approve his success. Still, she hadn't noticed any difference in how well she could translate Beast Boy's emotions into words. Maybe Starfire was on to something thinking that Robin had been too distracted to notice Raven spending more time with the shape-shifter. After all, the leader had assigned _her_ to watching over Beast Boy.

A flicker of feelings darted her eyes to the right. Beast Boy was watching her with interest, almost as if he was conducting a test. Raven returned her attention to Robin.

Her leader's face was a clear slate once again. "Now, before I was interrupted, I was going to return to the subject of-."

"Hey ya'll!"

Robin's calm expression contorted into that of serious irritation, but Cyborg's obliviousness allowed him to stroll into the ops room without worry. Beast Boy wasn't helping when he waved cheerily at his best friend, and Cyborg returned the gesture. "So, what's everyone doin' up here? I miss an alert or meetin' or somethin'?"

"No," Robin answered, his voice strained barely enough to be noticeable, "though you would have had I not been interrupted about four times in the last four minutes."

"Oh." Cyborg shrugged, smirking. "Guess I have good luck then!"

Robin's eye twitched behind the mask. "Yeah." Robin glanced around the group as if mentally counting the Titans in the room. He counted to five, and then took a deep breath. "Now I was trying to say-."

Beast Boy slurped a little from his cup. Robin whipped around, glaring daggers at the green boy who jumped and splashed the hot tea on his arms. He frowned, swinging his hands up and down, and then Raven felt his emotions curl towards her once more.

"If you want." She moved into the kitchen and found a towel which Beast Boy gratefully accepted.

Cyborg rubbed his head. "Hey Raven?" The empath returned, standing in the group again. "What food am I thinking of?"

She scowled. "For the last time, I can't read anyone's mind." She'd only explained it a million times before.

Beast Boy held up his pad of paper for Cyborg to read. _'Meat.'_

"How'd you know?!"

Robin's stance suggested he was ready to spontaneously combust, and Starfire softly coughed. Noting their leader's face, the others caught on and silenced themselves.

"Beast Boy," Robin stated, shoulders tight, "are going to stay here or not? Either way, we need to go."

Beast Boy inhaled, and then shut his mouth. His eyes narrowed in on a blank spot on the carpet for a still minute before the boy lifted his head to look at Robin, and nodded. "He'll come with," Raven said after a moment.

Among many other reasons, the shape-shifter didn't like the idea of his friends fighting without him, and he wasn't about to let them. Robin grunted. "Alright." His mask shifted toward the rest of the team. "There could be any number of criminals on the loose right now. Starfire pointed out that we no longer receive alerts because the phone lines are disconnected, and therefore multiple villains could have made their way out from behind bars during our downtime. I want to be in the city as soon as possible. We don't know what damage might've been inflicted on Jump because we couldn't be notified, and so-."

The entrance hissed at the arrival Silkie who wormed his way into the room with a delighted squeal, the larva bouncing through the entrance and smiling like he knew he'd ruined someone's day. The doors slid shut behind him with a quiet hiss, and the Titans glanced at one another and then hesitantly toward Robin.

The spikey-haired teenager sucked in a breath, rotating away from the group with tense shoulders, and Raven noticed the volcano of emotions spewing off of Robin. His words were barely decipherable through the growl. "We leave in five minutes."

* * *

The team loaded into the T-car three minutes later just to appeal to Robin's temper. Their leader had calmed surprisingly quickly, but even so, no one complained when he claimed shotgun. Cyborg took the wheel, and Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven squeezed together in the back. Soon enough the Titans had left the garage and were headed into Jump City.

Raven felt Beast Boy's eyes and emotions shifting toward her again, and she pressed her lips together. Starfire moved in her seat, and Raven, sensing joyful intrigue from the alien princess, risked a glance. She was smiling at Beast Boy who had moved his gaze to the ceiling of the car, swinging his feet.

Robin's voice distracted everyone. "There!"

A number of blocks ahead of the T-car, an enormous wall of dark sludge could be seen in the middle of the street. An odor impossible to ignore wafted over the vehicle, and Beast Boy threw his hands over his sensitive nose. Cyborg gagged too, closing the air vents before pressing down on the gas. The car accelerated with a thunderous roar.

"It's Plasmus," Robin identified unnecessarily as they sped forward. "Alright team, you know what to do."

The T-car screeched to a stop, and the five occupants leapt out. Plasmus spat out some unintelligible garble along with several globs of sewage. Swallowing the disgust rising in his throat, Robin shouted the familiar battle cry and everyone jumped to attack.

While Cyborg and Starfire distracted Plasmus with long range attacks, Raven flew overhead and fired several blasts of energy. Robin performed a few fancy acrobatics to avoid Plasmus's goo before freezing the monster's feet to the street with a special explosive disk. Raven didn't need to look away from the battle to know where Beast Boy was; she sensed him behind Plasmus, determined and focused. Judging by his emotions, she guessed he'd forgotten all about his disability and was ready for a fight.

Plasmus broke free from the ice and roared in fury, swinging his arms around in an attempt to catch a Titan with one of his enormous gooey arms. Raven caught some of the splatters from the movement with a shield, and noted Beast Boy shifting into a snake to avoid the attack. As Robin and Starfire were knocked into the T-car, the changeling transformed into a raven, irritating Plasmus's face with a few well-placed pecks. The creature gurgled and spurted a stream of sludge, covering Beast Boy with magenta glop and gluing him to the street. He struggled to escape the sticky pool as Plasmus advanced, but Cyborg ran in between, his arm cannon glowing and firing away. The thing shrieked and slipped backwards.

A shot of alarm surprised Raven, and she rotated at once toward the source, but seconds later Beast Boy's emotions attached the feeling of Starfire onto the fear. Raven's gaze swung toward her redheaded teammate who was checking on Robin, unaware of the behemoth collapsing above. Raven threw up her hands, forming a slanted barrier above the Titans that Plasmus landed on and slid off of. He crashed face-first inches away from Robin and Starfire, showering them both in goo, and shrunk in size and shape until a sleeping man lay on the sidewalk in the monster's place.

Starfire appeared surprised but relieved. Robin just wasn't having a good day, as was indicated by the expression he wore and the new stains on his uniform.

The alien girl touched his shoulder. "Are you alright, Robin?"

"Just disgusted beyond belief," Robin admitted, wiping his face and succeeding in smearing more mud on his skin.

Raven glided down next to them and inspected the comatose male on the street. "Looks like he knocked himself unconscious when he hit the ground."

"Good. One less thing to worry about." The Titans' leader waved his hands about, flicking gunk off of his arms. "Cyborg." The robotic Titan jogged over with Beast Boy, recently freed from his sticky mess thanks to his best friend. "I want you to call the police station on the communicator and wait here until they've picked up Plasmus. After you can help search for trouble in the car." Unable to fly, Cyborg couldn't cover ground as quickly as the rest of the team. While Robin had no flight abilities either, he knew how to run across rooftops, and Starfire enjoyed carrying him. The girl could always do the same for Cyborg, but Robin preferred otherwise.

"Sounds like a plan, Rob."

Robin nodded to Cyborg and then to Raven and Beast Boy. "You two are together. Search for trouble, and if you find it, you know what to do."

Beast Boy exchanged a look with Raven who shifted the glance over to Robin. "We'll head east."

"Alright." The leader pulled a gadget from his belt. "Starfire, let's go."

They disappeared over the rooftops through the midday sky, leaving the remaining Titans to their assignments. Cyborg turned around and noticed his once spotless car covered in goop. "Aw man!" He ran over to the side of the vehicle. "Why does this always happen?! It's gonna take forever to scrub my baby down!"

"Better get started then," Raven remarked in a dry tone before her magic swooped her and Beast Boy up to a rooftop several blocks away. They emerged from the darkness facing the east side of Jump, and Raven lowered her hood. "He won't be too happy to find the sizeable indention on his car under all that mess."

Beast Boy winced with sympathy, walking to the edge of the building and hopping onto the next without transforming. The space between rooftops varied, but the shape-shifter estimated he wouldn't need to change forms to make any upcoming jumps. Raven stepped beside him, and the two continued forward.

The empath appreciated the silence. If Beast Boy wanted a conversation, he knew how to start one even without the help of his voice; that Raven was certain of. Yet at the moment, the green teen expressed content despite the battle a few minutes ago. Raven recalled his spike of alarm and how he'd diverted it to move her attention to Plasmus. She'd never thought to use her empathy as a tactical advantage in battle. If practiced, it might become a valuable communication method, and Beast Boy had made her realize that. Whether the event resulted through thinking on his feet or a planned action didn't matter, but if Beast Boy had never lost his voice, the possible advantage would most likely never have been discovered. Every cloud had a silver lining.

She and Beast Boy journeyed onto the next building's top, and the crunch of new dirt under her feet pulled Raven out of her thoughts. The dark girl peered to her right at her teammate, distracted. Although he appeared physically focused on the horizon, his mind and feelings told another story. Raven lifted her foot to avoid a white smear in her path, and again she sensed him summoning her with his blend of unusual emotions. He'd learned how to think for her.

"Yes?"

His lips parted in a proud smile, and now Beast Boy's gaze landed on her. He'd been testing her. "You were seeing if I could sense your feelings addressed for me." A wave of the hand indicated she was right, but there was more. The test had been for her and himself. "And you wanted to see what emotions you needed to feel for me to pay attention."

Correct. Beast Boy's eyes lit up like a green checkmark. Raven hummed under her breath. "I'd say you succeeded then." He brightened more at the subtle praise, and the empath pretended not to notice. "Speaking of emotions, I've been meaning to ask you about last night. Did you discover which colors corresponded with what feelings?"

Beast Boy frowned and motioned negatively. If he had figured out much, he didn't remember. Then again, he couldn't even recall what he'd dreamt about, so he wasn't that surprised. All that came to mind a couple of minutes after Raven left was the swirling colors and him starting to write in his notebook. Which reminded him, he needed to give that shark drawing to Cyborg. The corner of his lips curled up at the thought, and then he twitched. The robotic teen had accepted Beast Boy's decision to fight with the team rather well considering the fuss he'd put up about his health two days ago. But Cyborg had promised he'd make it up to Beast Boy, and he appeared to be sticking to his word.

"He's not upset."

Lifting his head, Beast Boy peered at Raven. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "Cyborg. He isn't upset that you decided to come with us." The two moved over a gap between the rooftops. "Slightly concerned, but that's not unusual. I believe he was glad you made a decision."

Beast Boy smiled. He wasn't even sure how suddenly Raven could pick up on what was on his mind so well, but he'd loved the hilarious expressions on Starfire's and specifically Robin's face that morning when she'd started answering his silent inquiries. The moment had been like his and Raven's own private joke -even if Beast Boy didn't really understand it himself- but that didn't mean he wasn't fond of it. He rather liked it.

A pound of frustration and anger flew up several blocks behind the two, and Raven knew Cyborg had found the dent. "Now he's upset," she observed in monotone. Catching Beast Boy's curiosity, she clarified, "Cyborg just realized how much he hates fighting enemies near his 'baby'."

Smirking at the comment, Beast Boy's mouth curved and his nose flared somewhat as he held in a laugh. Raven rolled her eyes.

They searched the city until the setting sun's glare caught their eyes, reminding the two of the late time. Raven's communicator beeped, and she opened the device so both she and Beast Boy could see who was calling. "Robin."

"Find any trouble?"

"Just a few bank robberies. Nothing exciting."

Robin exhaled in disappointment. "Same here. We ran into Doctor Light, but he wasn't an issue."

"What a surprise." Raven felt Beast Boy smiling behind her.

A beep alerted the Titans to another call, and seconds later, Cyborg's head filled up the little ovular screen. The expression on his face told an interesting story. "Uh, guys… Plasmus got away."

"What." Robin's voice cut through the speakers.

Cyborg rubbed the top of his skull, wincing. "Yeah, Overload showed up and shot me in the back right before the police got here. Knocked me out cold, sucked some of my juice, and scratched my baby all in the process of takin' Plasmus. They're both gone."

Beast Boy tapped Raven on the shoulder, and she narrowed her eyes as he cradled his arms, rocking back and forth. "…I think Beast Boy wants to know if your 'baby' is alright."

A quiet chuckle came from Cyborg's screen. "Good to know you care, BB."

Thankfully Robin sounded less angry when he spoke next, not that anyone could blame him for his frustration. He'd had a long day. "Overload and Plasmus… Overload rescued Plasmus?"

"I dunno about rescuin' him, maybe just tryin' to make our lives more difficult," Cyborg answered with a grunt, scratching his cheek.

"Maybe. But maybe not." Robin hummed. "Let's meet up and head back to the tower. I have some suspicions about what is going on."

The Titans agreed before cutting the connection. Raven and Beast Boy arrived at the T-car moments later thanks to Raven's teleportation, and Cyborg jumped a little. He chuckled in a nervous way. "Sorry, just jumpy since Overload snuck up on me." Fading sirens sounded in the distance. "The police just left."

Raven simply walked up to him and opened the passenger side, pointing. Cyborg obeyed, sitting down and balancing his elbows on his knees as she set to work healing the forming bruise on his skull. Beast Boy hopped up onto the front of the T-car, but a glare from Cyborg sent him sliding off with a squeak of his sneakers. He wandered over to Raven's side, watching the glow from her fingertips shine against the metal in Cyborg's face, and then tugged on her cape. Her eyes glanced off toward him, and Beast Boy massaged his neck, shaking his head.

"Are you sure?" Raven's eyebrow lifted. She received an affirmative nod, withdrawing her arms as her mending was finished. "I suppose."

Cyborg straightened, nearly smacking his forehead on the roof of the vehicle when he scooted out. He stood up, crossed his arms, and looked at Raven and Beast Boy before tossing his hands in the air and exclaiming loudly, "Alright, stop it, would ya?! It's creepin' me out! Before when you could guess what he was thinkin' was fine, but now it's like you _know_. How?!"

The two Titans exchanged a glance, but Cyborg cut them off with his proclamation. "No, no, no, don't be doing that whole _look at each other and be thinkin' the same thing_ thing! Explain it to me!"

Raven shrugged, but the humor from Beast Boy's emotions was almost contagious. "Deductive reasoning?"

Cyborg exhaled overdramatically and then grunted. "Fine. Don't tell me. But at least let me know what he was sayin' to ya earlier."

"He didn't want me to heal him today since I needed to heal you." Raven peered over her shoulder, checking with Beast Boy to make sure she was correct, and she was.

"Ah. Well, great." Cyborg seemed much more deflated now that he thought he was being left out of their nonexistent communication code, and he leaned back against a light post. Beast Boy walked over to him and patted his larger friend's shoulder.

Raven raised her hood and faced the buildings opposite of her. Thanks to Cyborg's exasperation, the words of Robin and Starfire had come rushing back to her. Why did she and Beast Boy have such a connection with one another that Raven could interpret his thoughts so easily now? Reasonably, she deduced, it wasn't that strange of an occurrence. Their understanding of each other had been increasing the last few days at a fast rate, and the others had only just noticed, such as someone might grow a few inches but it wouldn't be thought of until one day someone paid attention.

That wasn't all though. Raven found that she no longer ignored Beast Boy whenever he wanted her attention. He'd learned not to call for her unnecessarily, and Raven discovered that what he needed wasn't usually as unreasonable as she'd believed. Also, being required to guess what he was thinking more than half the time meant she needed to think like him, which required some adaptation. But she was flexible, and Beast Boy was learning about her too the more time they spent together.

Beast Boy was showing his best friend his drawing of a shark, the paper creased along the middle in a cross suggesting the page had been folded and shoved into his pocket. But Cyborg felt amused and happy again, and he was chuckling, messing up the green boy's hair with a fond ruffle.

Their bonding session was interrupted by Robin dropping out of the sky, and Starfire floated down beside him from where she'd released the leader. Cyborg dipped his head at Beast Boy who proudly held up his picture, and the robotic teenager snuck over to Raven as Starfire praised the drawing and Robin stood by with a faint distracted smile.

"Seriously, Raven," he said in a low voice, "tell me how you're like readin' his mind?

"I," Raven began in a bored tone that somehow was unnerving, "cannot read minds." Her voice softened to a drawl. "But I couldn't tell you. I believe we have been slowly learning how to read one another ever since the accident, and the rest of you only noticed today."

"I'll say," Cyborg confirmed. "It was like someone flipped a switch and you two were suddenly 'like besties' or somethin'!"

The empath rolled her eyes over to the trio of Titans, and Cyborg followed her gaze, folding his arms. He sighed. "Really… If it didn't make me worry so much, I'd almost think this accident was good for him. I mean, look at that grin. That's a happy face right there. He knows how to express himself better 'cause of this, I think, all while he's still gettin' that attention he loves. And he doesn't have to say that he's really happy for us to notice it." Cyborg hummed, leaving silence between him and Raven, and then clapped his hands together for everyone to hear. "Alright ya'll, let's be gettin' on home!"

As the Titans loaded into the T-car, Raven registered Cyborg's words. She thought back to her and Beast Boy's visit on the rocks, the colors from her mirror, and then subconsciously checked the green boy's emotions. Beast Boy had hopped into the middle seat, beaming at Raven as he did. She blinked, almost starting. If she'd believed the others oblivious to her and Beast Boy's better understanding of each other, she'd been as equally blind to the difference in his emotions. His feelings had been changing all this time, and the empath hadn't recognized it. Did that mean Beast Boy didn't notice either? Or had it hit him like a brick too?

She shuddered her surprise away. All that was left was to decipher the new feelings, but then again, was it really her place to intrude? Raven had thought she'd been paying more attention to his emotions –and she had, although it was to Beast Boy's outer feelings that conflicted with the events around them- but the empath was discovering the new development only today. She could always ask what Beast Boy thought, if he was even aware. But his voice was healing more every day, and maybe the shift of his thoughts on her had to do with Raven fixing his vocal cords. After all, it wasn't something small that changed a person's feelings on someone rather than something.

* * *

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	7. Accepting the Invitation

Robin called a team meeting while in the T-car so no one could sneak off to their quarters or recreational activities when they returned to the tower. The group gathered in the ops room under the critical eye of their leader who currently stood in front of the sofa. His teammates scattered across the gray cushions.

"Alright. So, on his own, Overload has been trouble enough, but why would he go to all the work of rescuing Plasmus?" Robin asked aloud.

Beast Boy lifted his hand in the air, pointing at himself and then Robin. The team waited for Raven's translation. "He wants to know… if you're talking to us or yourself."

"Both." Robin walked the length of the couch and Beast Boy rolled his eyes, pressing back deeper into the sofa. "But think. When was the last time that those two came in contact? In _close_ contact."

The quiet that followed was filled with both contemplation and confusion. Raven's monotone chased away the lack of sound. "Ternion."

Cyborg sucked in a breath, and Beast Boy tensed. Robin glanced at them. "Right. When Overload, Plasmus, and Cinderblock physically merge, they create the monster Ternion, and two of that trio is already together. If they get ahold of Cinderblock and form Ternion, we could be in big trouble. We've had a hard enough time with him in the past." Robin quit pacing and folded his arms in front of his team. "As far as I can tell, Jump has adapted to having no electricity surprisingly well. Most have places started digging out generators once they heard that the power outage would last for a while, like the arcade and the Pizza Corner." He paused. "But it's been nearly a week. It can't be too long until the city gets its power back. Once that happens, citizens will have more of a chance to spot Overload and call the police who, in turn, will call us. That's probably why he took out the electricity and power lines in the first place, so he'd have less of a chance of being caught. If this is Overload's plan, I suspect he will try to find Cinderblock as soon as possible."

Starfire raised her voice. "And what if it is not his plan?"

"Then we take him and Plasmus down anyway." Robin clenched his fist for a moment before letting his fingers go slack. "I want to go check on Cinderblock's holding cell in the prison. I'll ride my motorcycle there," he added before Raven could offer to teleport him. "Raven, I want you to rest more today so you can heal Beast Boy later. We still need his voice back, and I'm sure he wants it too."

The shape-shifter nodded unnecessarily.

"When I get back," the Titans' leader continued, "I want everyone decided on the times they'll patrol the city tonight. I'll take a night shift." Robin scanned the group, seeing that his orders had been heard and registered, and then dipped his head. "Alright, that's enough talking on my part. I'll be back before midnight."

Rounding the sofa, the Titan headed for the exit, but paused in front of the doors to glance over his shoulder at the team. The four were starting to discuss who would take which shift, with Cyborg making suggestions, Starfire listening attentively, and Raven looking at Beast Boy every so often to translate. Beast Boy had tugged on the empath's cloak as if he wanted to ask her something when Robin stepped out before he was caught eavesdropping.

* * *

When he arrived thirty minutes later, Robin brought the prison guards a present. On the way to the Jump City jail, the Titan had almost run over a purse-napper sprinting away from a robbed elderly lady. The thief spotted Robin only seconds before the man's feet were knocked out from under him by a bird-a-rang, and then the crook saw only the sidewalk. He woke up in the gray interior of a cell block. Robin smiled as the thief was locked away. Sometimes he had to appreciate the smaller criminals; his job was so much easier when not every enemy was a super powered villain trying to take over the city. Not needing directions, Robin walked down the corridor towards Cinderblock's containment cell.

The prison was one of the few buildings in Jump City that had backup for everything. Backup guards, backup to their backup –the automatic lockdown system-, and backup to their backup's backup which was the Titans. Everything wasn't jail-break-prevention related, however, and one of their many backups was a secondary power generator. Despite the outage, the prison had not lost many of its convicts thanks to the continuous electricity.

Nodding to the guards outside the room, Robin pushed apart a set of doors and approached a huge holding cell. Lines of electricity crisscrossed each other, creating the four walls and the ceiling of the stone giant's prison. Cinderblock sat in the center, rising to stand with a crunching growl like two rocks grinding against one another once he recognized Robin. The Titan stood several feet away from the monster, observing the blue voltage that confined Cinderblock. The monster's throat rolled again, irritated. Cinderblock thought he had problems, being captured repeatedly by heroes whenever he broke out? Beast Boy couldn't even say what he was feeling, thanks to the behemoth.

Robin exhaled, frowning at the blue lightning circling around Cinderblock. "This is practically asking for Overload to break him out."

"And Overload is so glad he accepted the invitation!"

An explosion of white electricity flew down from a light bulb onto the floor where Robin had been seconds ago. The leader flipped off of his hand and slid up across the concrete floor into a standing position. Overload towered above the Titan, crackling with energy and reaching the same height as Cinderblock. The little red chip in the center of the power grinned. "Did Overload find a little bird flying all by himself?" His laugh was electronic. "Good. I've been craving fried chicken all day!"

The guards burst in through the doors, but were knocked back almost at once by a blast of light that leapt from Overload's chest. The villain pointed both of his arms at the doors and fired, melting the entrance shut. "Now." Overload turned toward Robin who already had his fingers inside his belt, prepared to retaliate an attack at any moment. "Where were we?"

Robin launched himself over a bolt of electricity, flinging several projectiles at Overload in mid-jump. The villain shot the attack out of the air, and a smoke pellet detonated above them. Robin tossed another on the floor, and the room was shrouded in the gray fog. Thanks to his bright appearance, Overload was easy to keep track of, and Robin kept half an eye on him while he opened his communicator, calling his team. A hot pain suddenly shot up his leg, and the teenager managed to catch a glimpse of the tendril of electricity wrapped around his ankle before it pulled him backwards.

* * *

After deciding that she would take the patrol following Beast Boy's and preceding Robin's, Raven had resided to her room with a book. Currently the dark girl was seated on her bed, cross-legged with a novel balanced in between her knees. It felt like forever had passed since she'd gotten the chance to read by herself. Granted, now was no different, but least the room was quiet.

Beast Boy lay on his stomach on her floor, bumping his swinging feet against the base of her bed every so often as if to remind her he was there. As if she could forget. The boy's drawing pad rested flat on her carpet below his chin, and scattered colored pencils littered the floor around him. Raven's mirror was set carefully to his left, glowing as the glass projected changing lights overhead. Every once in a while, Beast Boy would make a face, presumably testing another emotion, and the colors above would change according to his feelings.

Raven had decided that the recent development with Beast Boy's emotions didn't need to be brought up unless something changed between him and her. Still, she kept one eye on the lights as he experimented with emotions. Pink surfaced the second most behind yellow, but fainter colors made various showings as well. A bit of purple, some green, the occasional gray, a lot of blue, and a little brown. Whenever something new came up, the furious scribble of a pencil would follow within seconds.

Her curiosity got the better of her, and Raven closed her book. "Learn anything?"

Focused, Beast Boy didn't respond.

Raven rolled her eyes, staring at the back of his head. "Beast Boy." His ears twitched. "Discover the secrets of the universe yet?"

He held his open palm out toward her, wiggling each of his fingers. It had been five minutes. Rolling backwards and grinning, he threw up both hands. He needed ten to discover the secrets of the universe.

"Right." Raven's eyebrow narrowed slightly, but her lips twitched.

Beast Boy smirked as if knowing he was hilarious. Sitting up with a deep exhale, the shape-shifter scooted around until he was facing the bed, and Raven placed her novel onto her nightstand. She joined him on the carpet, eyes landing on the pad of paper in between them. Several words were written in specific colors. _Calm_ was blue. _Curious/smart_ was yellow. _Happy_ was pink. _Lazy_ was brown. And then on the lower half of the page were the uncertain colors. Both gray and green seemed to have several guesses -including _scared_ and _shy_ for the ashen shade, and quite the opposite for green like _tough_ , _strong_ \- but none too solid. Red was a complete blank as he hadn't seen any scarlet so far. And then a blob of purple had words written next to it, but didn't make much sense. _Bubble dance party. Tight? Weird._

Raven blinked. The colors felt almost familiar… But they did come from her mirror, which would explain her supposed recognition. She scanned the pages. Good thing she could read Beast Boy's handwriting; in her position, Robin would've had his work cut out for him.

Their communicators crackled to life with the Titans' custom ringtone, jolting Raven and Beast Boy in surprise. The rich colors above them shifted to an ashen yellow as Raven picked hers up. Peering over her shoulder, Beast Boy darkened the particles with a touch of brown light. Raven rolled her eyes, and they both watched the device's circular screen.

Either the reception was bad or Robin's side was filled with smoke. For a few seconds his face was visible, and then all Raven and Beast Boy could see was a flash of white light and the palm of his glove. But they heard his shout easily enough, and then his following pained ones as well.

"Robin!" Raven was on her feet in a moment with Beast Boy right behind her. Cyborg and Starfire's urgent voices were audible through the speakers as they too watched from different sections of the tower. The communicator screen tilted out to show a bright glowing figure that could only be Overload, and his loud electrical laugh muted any other audible noises.

Raven snapped the device shut, looking at Beast Boy. His expression was resolute and affirmative. She nodded, grabbed his hand, and chanted, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" as the room color flashed to gray violet. They teleported into the prison, and then ducked as a bolt of lightning shattered into the wall behind them.

Robin was dodging Overload's shots with impressive agility, and he had run up the wall to flip over the villain before tossing an explosive disk onto his opponent's back. The Titan hit the ground and rolled to his feet, wincing as he sprinted away from Overload. Robin's head turned toward Raven and Beast Boy, catching sight of the pair. "Don't touch him!" the leader shouted. "Hit him with projectiles!" He leapt over a blast of electricity. Cinderblock's deep laughter followed every attack.

Raven obeyed, ripping up the ground in front of Overload with her powers and causing the monster to stumble. He turned his attention to her with a bellow. "More Titans! And more birds for Overload to fry!"

Summoning a shield, Raven blocked his bright bolt with her magic, and glowered. Always with the bad puns. She glimpsed at Robin who was catching his breath, leaning against the wall, but appeared ready to jump in any second despite the sweat on his skin and the weight he shifted off of one foot. "Beast Boy." The empath gritted her teeth as she protected them from another shot. She had to raise her voice somewhat to be heard over the crackle of light. "Go to Robin; he hurt his leg." She felt his hesitance. "I'll be fine. Robin might know Overload's weakness." Overload's onslaught paused for a moment, and Raven tore a chunk of concrete out of the ground beside her, tossing it at the villain. She took to the air to advance on Overload, and Beast Boy transformed into a groundhog, diving into the floor's opening.

There were a ton of pipes under the surface, and Beast Boy would've gotten lost had it not been for the thunderous steps from Overload letting him know where the battle was taking place. He popped up next to the sealed doors where Robin was last seen, far away from the battle. The leader hadn't reentered the fight yet, and up close he appeared much more tired. Beast Boy jumped out, shifting into human.

The surprise on Robin's face betrayed his lack of focus on his surroundings. His muscles relaxed. "Beast Boy."

Beast Boy pointed at Robin's ankle which his leader was leaning off of.

Robin stared at him for a moment, trying to process his silent inquiry while keeping an eye on Raven and Overload's match. He shook his head. "I'm fine. My leg is fine."

Beast Boy crossed his arms.

"Don't worry about me." Robin shifted toward Raven, and Beast Boy followed his gaze for a moment. The sorceress was avoiding Overload's barrages well, and she would retaliate every so often with whatever object happened to be in the vicinity.

Ripping his sights away from the scene, the green boy waved his hands around and then motioned at Overload. Robin opened his mouth, breathed, and then shook his head. "I… don't know what you're trying to say…"

Beast Boy clenched his fist, glancing over his shoulder at Overload and Raven again. How could he ask Robin about Overload's weakness when his leader didn't understand him, and his paper pad was left back in Raven's room? He gestured again to Overload.

Robin sounded apologetic at least. "We can address… whatever you need later. For now we should focus on taking down Overload." Beast Boy slapped his green forehead and ran his hand down his face. Understanding changed Robin's expression as he realized that's what Beast Boy had been trying to ask. "Right. Remember what Cyborg said last time we dealt with Overload? We should try hitting him with water; I think that might affect him." He straightened off of the wall. "But remember not to touch him. His body burns."

Scratching his head, Beast Boy scanned the room. They were stuck in the middle of a prison with the exit doors glued together, and a giant Cinderblock monster trapped behind electrical bars in the center. Where were they going to get water from?! Robin caught Beast Boy's look. "No water. I know, but we'll figure something out."

Like what? Beast Boy frowned, morphing into a gopher and diving into the ground again. It was a long shot, but maybe there was a well deep underground? He had to do something other than stand around and think for a solution while watching Raven clash against Overload by herself. Beast Boy's tiny paws pattered along the inside of a pipe, and then he paused, ears twitching.

Robin was trying to help Raven the best he could, even with his ankle throbbing so. The empath was keeping up with Overload's attacks, but she had to be getting tired. Slipping behind Overload, Robin tossed a bird-a-rang at the white monster. He succeeded in distracting the villain, and adrenaline helped him dart away from several lightning attacks. Before Overload could advance, the ground underneath shifted, and a green gopher popped out from a crack in the cement between Overload's legs. The two stopped, staring at each other in apparent surprise for a still moment before Beast Boy promptly spit up into the chip's face.

Overload bellowed in fury and zapped the floor, leaving a black smear. However, the gopher had already disappeared below, scurrying out of Overload's sight and then reemerging behind him. Quickly changing into a gorilla, Beast Boy pounded his fist deep through the ground and pulled out a long pipe. He popped it open, and water shot out of one end straight onto the electrical villain's back. Overload howled, his height and weight beginning to shrink. Raven and Robin joined Beast Boy's side, but as Overload stumbled away to escape the stream of liquid, he bumped into the electrical walls of Cinderblock's cell, and his shout became a bark of laughter. His body flashed with light, and the Titans were blinded. They heard his chuckles echo as they blinked the spots behind their eyelids away.

Cinderblock's cell was empty, and a hole had been torn open in the prison wall. Overload and Cinderblock were gone.

Beast Boy's shoulders sagged, and he shrunk back into himself. Robin placed a hand on the boy's arm with a smile. "Good thinking, Beast Boy. It hadn't occurred to me to that there might be water pipes underground."

The green Titan grinned at the praise, even more so when he noticed Raven nod once in agreement. Her hood was up as she glanced at him and then Robin. "Now we know that water works against Overload."

"And that's not the only thing," Robin added, sounding almost happy regardless of his tired frame.

Raven raised an eyebrow as did Beast Boy. Their leader held up his communicator. Two small red dots were moving away from their location on a map. Tracking devices.

The group was interrupted by the heavy rip of metal, and the sealed walls were bent apart. Tossing the doors aside, Starfire dashed in with Cyborg right behind her. The guards from before plus some backup followed, and, noting the gap in the wall, went to investigate. Starfire flew to Robin immediately, clutching his arm. "Robin! You are alright?"

He offered her a smile. "Raven and Beast Boy teleported here pretty quickly. They helped me out." Beast Boy rolled his eyes. Helped? More like saved Robin's butt. Raven elbowed the shape-shifter, knowing what he was thinking.

"Teleported here a little too fast, if you ask me," Cyborg interrupted, folding his big arms. "Didn't even think to come grab us!" Beast Boy smirked, and Raven exhaled but decided silence was a good option seeing as Starfire had just discovered the nasty burn on Robin's ankle.

Robin winced as she brushed her fingers over it, and Starfire pulled back her hand. "Robin, this is from Overload?"

"Right. Some future advice; don't initiate any physical contact with him." He bit down on a cringe as his leg stung. "And don't let him grab you either."

Shaking his head, Cyborg reached into a compartment in his arm, withdrawing and jangling his car keys. "Let's get you back to the med bay to patch you up, man. The T-car's parked right outside. Drove here as fast as we could once we saw the trouble you were in."

Robin nodded, transferring his weight to his undamaged foot. "We'll fill you in on the way back." He started walking forward, and Starfire grasped his shoulder to make him hesitate. Raven returned the glance she was shot, and then the sorceress signaled to Robin. Starfire's head tilted to the side in a relieved motion. She guided her leader to the floor, and Raven knelt down, fingers glowing.

The tenseness in Robin's shoulders relaxed as Raven worked. "Thanks."

Raven kept her eyes on the burn mark. "I was going to end up healing you either way. No reason we should have to wait until you get back to the tower."

"That doesn't mean I don't appreciate it." Raven's magic faded, and Robin rose to his feet. Starfire stood by with careful hands to catch him if necessary, but Raven had done her work well. The Titans' leader stretched out his legs and smiled before straightening. "Alright, let's get to the car. We can still fill you in on the way back."

"Sounds like a plan," Cyborg agreed. He, Starfire, and Robin started on their way out, and Beast Boy paused to wait for Raven to rise. The empath grabbed the edge of her hood as if to secure its place on her head and pushed off of the ground into a standing position, grunting under her breath. Her legs shifted forward as she followed the other Titans out, and Beast Boy hopped up next to her, squinting as she walked. As they reached the wide gap in the walls where the doors used to be, his emotions called her, and, still moving, Raven turned her eyes in his direction.

Grabbing her forearm, Beast Boy stopped her shuffle with a tug and an austere expression. His finger aimed down toward her legs hidden behind the indigo cloak, and then he angled his head. Raven pressed her lips together. Her limping hadn't been that obvious, had it? She fixed a dull stare on him. "I've told you how my healing works." Two injuries in one day had been a little too much pain for her to absorb. "I'll be fine in the morning."

Immediately she chided her choice in wording. "I'll be fine" suggested she wasn't presently, and judging by the tightening of Beast Boy's hand on her arm, he'd interpreted it that way. Raven cast a glance across the hallway where the rest of the Titans hadn't noticed their lagging behind yet. "Beast Boy, I'm perfectly able. Now let's get going."

Even so, he was hesitant, but now expressed apologetic feelings for holding her up. The concern on his face told the empath how worried he really was. Raven lessened her tone. "I know." The boy smiled a bit, nervously, but he still held her wrist. Raven slid her eyes down his arm. Beast Boy always did wear his heart on his sleeve.

Twisting her hand, Raven tugged up slightly to loosen his fingers from around her skin, and then rotated her palm so it was matching his. She let her hand hang there, pressed against his gloved palm. Beast Boy almost physically jumped in the same way his emotions did, but Raven noticed he didn't dare look at her straight. The girl sighed. "If you're so worried I can't walk normally without help…" She wasn't sure where she was going with that sentence, but Beast Boy seemed to understand well enough, and his fingers curled up over hers.

Remembering the rest of her team existed and was going to start wondering where they were, Raven towed him onwards, and Beast Boy stumbled as if being pulled out of a daze. And he was worried about her being able to walk?

They made it through the hallways and to the prison entrance where outside the T-car could be seen through a window. A few guards like the ones staring indiscreetly at her and Beast Boy stood next to the vehicle, speaking with Robin while Cyborg and Starfire listened.

Raven stepped up to the door, grasping the handle at a pace much slower than necessary as her thoughts decided whether they wanted to catch up to her or not. She didn't give her brain much of a chance and left the building after barely a moment of hesitation.

She'd barely taken two steps outside when the fingers between hers hauled her back in. Raven whirled around in front of Beast Boy, and he chewed on his lip, holding up his arm. He thought she'd forgotten their hands were still joined. Right. Her leg and head were throbbing. She felt flushed and drained from the healing. She wasn't thinking rationally, was she? Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to go marching out in front of the Titans like that. Beast Boy shuffled, his bright eyes smoldered with embarrassment.

Without a word or expression, Raven separated their hands. Beast Boy began rubbing the back of his neck with his, and Raven noticed the scarlet color on his face that had been present for a while. She grabbed the doorknob again, the metal cooling her heated palm. The urge to apologize itched in the back of her throat. "Sorry," she muttered before truly processing the impulse, and then pushed on the door. Beast Boy's emotions spiked. Not what he'd been expecting from her. That made two of them.

The waiting Titans had sat in their usual places inside of the T-car with Robin in the front passenger, Starfire in the back, and Cyborg in the driver's chair. The robotic Titan dropped the window. "There you two are! Was almost considerin' leavin' without ya!"

Raven rolled her eyes at him and took the window seat after Beast Boy crawled in. She noticed how the blush on his cheeks was fading before the movement of the T-car distracted her. Robin began summarizing the details of the prison incident for Cyborg and Starfire, and his words faded into the background of the empath's mind as the vehicle picked up speed, accelerating away from the prison.

* * *

 **The ending to this story is coming up. Not too quickly, but it's there, and so I've put up a poll on my profile page asking what story you all would like to see written next! I will take Guest votes too; people without an account can tell me in a Guest review what they want to vote for, and I'll include it.**

 **As always, thanks for every single one of the reviews, follows, and favorites!**


	8. Working Together

**This was one of my favorite chapters to write, so I hope you all like it equally as much!**

* * *

Raven awoke to a flashing light coloring her walls red. Her feet touched the floor before her mind truly comprehended the alarm, and by time her brain woke up, she had already clasped on her cloak and made it halfway down the hall. Her hood was lifted up to hide the circles under her eyes; she tended to look more sleep deprived when she was well-rested in that backwards sort of way.

The girl paced around a corner without a limp in her step, and mentally thanked Robin. Although he'd wanted to take out Overload as soon as possible, her leader apparently wasn't as blind to Raven's drainage of power as the sorceress had suspected. During the car ride home, Robin had offered to take over her patrol that night since he was still enforcing the previously scheduled patrols to keep an eye on Overload. Raven had accepted, retreating to her room almost immediately once they arrived at the tower. Because she'd had time to sleep, her physical and mental conditions had recovered in full.

The team was waiting on her when Raven entered, and she joined them without a word. Her friends seemed more refreshed than the night before; everyone must've gotten at least a few hours of slumber. She glanced at the green boy standing beside Robin with tired but bright emerald eyes, and spotted the small lined paper sticking out of his belt. It looked like he had found the pad where she'd left it on his nightstand. Her thoughts drifted back to the night before. In her hasty teleportation to help Robin, she'd forgotten to turn off her mirror, but luckily the spell had ended itself since there were no emotions in the empty room to display. She hadn't been the only one to overlook something, however, for Beast Boy too had neglected to pick up things -specifically his little and large sketchbooks and utensils- when they'd left. While Beast Boy took the first patrol, she had returned them to his bedroom.

Robin was talking. "-tired from our battle yesterday because the only activity we saw from Overload last night was his retreating into a warehouse and staying put." Raven picked up a hint of frustration from him. No doubt he was thinking the team could have made their move then, but the group had needed rest.

Raven caught Beast Boy's eye, and he lifted an eyebrow. She lowered her head imperceptibly to assure him she was back to full strength.

"And now?" Cyborg inquired.

"He's on the run again, and that's why I set off the alarm. My guess is he isn't with Plasmus yet or they would've turned into Ternion by now," Robin declared. "This is the best time to make our move, before that happens. Let's go."

* * *

Beast Boy drummed his fingers on his thigh twice, listening to the beep from Robin's communicator bleep faster as the T-car drew nearer to the villains. In need of a distraction, the shape-shifter mentally summarized what information he had on the villains. Overload's weakness was water. The team would have to successfully knock Plasmus unconscious, and if Cinderblock was pinned correctly, there would be no freeing the monster until authorities came to pick him up.

Cinderblock. Beast Boy tapped his kneecap with his hand again, his leg starting to bounce with anticipation. Fighting the stone monster for the first time since the accident hadn't been as difficult as he'd expected, not when Robin and Raven required his help. Honestly, the idea that Beast Boy should've been scared or nervous hadn't even occurred to him until Cyborg asked about it later in private. But the concern made sense. Still, he didn't feel any fear, unless his worry for Raven after the battle counted.

Raven placed her hand on his leg to stop its hopping in place. She, Beast Boy, and Starfire were squished in the back of the vehicle enough as it was; they shouldn't have to deal with his adrenalized dancing. Beast Boy shifted before he settled down and sent an emotional apology out, mixing the thought of Raven into his message so she'd notice. The girl removed her hand to continue staring out the window. The indigo glimmer in her eyes winked whenever she blinked, and Beast Boy was starting to recognize her barely thoughtful look whenever he incorporated the thought of her into his silent messages.

Cyborg slowed the T-car down to rest at a stop sign, and the beeping from Robin's communicator suddenly went wild. A shadow darted past the windshield, and the Titans watched in disbelief as a huge gray monster barreled right past them like a vehicle trying to speed through the green traffic light before it turned red. Said green light was ripped off by Cinderblock's swinging arm as he ran, leaving car alarms shrieking behind him.

The T-car revved for a moment before accelerating after the rock creature. Robin didn't look over his shoulder as he addressed his teammates. "Raven, Starfire, slow him down." They nodded and flew out of each door, leaving Beast Boy with the entire back seat to himself.

Starfire swooped up to Raven as the girls started gaining on Cinderblock. "I shall distract him?"

"And I'll trip him."

The faster of the two, Starfire flew forward until she was in front of Cinderblock, and then summoned two starbolts in each hand, firing at the stone monster's head. Cinderblock roared, stumbling backwards and then falling altogether when his feet knocked against the lamppost Raven had positioned behind him. The T-car swerved around to avoid the behemoth as he landed flat on his back in the middle of the street, cracking the pavement and breaking off the cover of a manhole with his head. Raven and Starfire exchanged satisfied glances.

Their communicators crackled, but Raven sensed Beast Boy's urgent message of danger before Starfire could even touch the device. A black shield surrounded both of the girls, and moments later they were surrounded in scarlet sludge.

Without hesitation, Cyborg slammed his foot on the gas and ran the car straight through Plasmus's foot. The monster hadn't formed fully yet, still rising out of the opening in the sewers, and shrieked as the vehicle unbalanced him. Robin was shouting into his communicator.

"Starfire! Raven!"

The response came after a moment, sounding distant. "We are the fine."

"…Just disgusted." That much was evident from Raven's tone.

Cinderblock was rising, and Plasmus reforming. A lamppost nearby sparked, and a white stream of voltage poured out onto the road. Overload's laugh was audible before the electricity shaped into his usual figure.

Cyborg exited the car with his teammates. "Well, this was a trap."

Robin lowered the communicator, not looking away from the three monsters. "What else did you expect?"

The current surrounding Overload brightened, and his chip turned toward the two monstrosities. His electricity picked up in an air stream, spinning it around the trio of creatures, and the Titans realized what was happening. Beast Boy grabbed Robin's arm, pointing at Plasmus urgently.

His thoughts were echoed by Cyborg. "Rob, tell the girls to get outta there!"

To his astonishment, Robin hesitated, and then opened the communicator again. "They're forming Ternion."

Raven's drone voice answered. "And you're just standing there."

"They're surrounded by electricity. But you guys are inside." The Titan paused, allowing his unspoken message to be heard.

"Tell us when, Robin." Starfire spoke this time. Raven could be heard grunting in the background, and Beast Boy clenched his fists. He didn't like this idea.

A flash of light blinded the team for a moment as Cinderblock, Overload, and Plasmus merged. Plasmus melted inside of Cinderblock while Overload sealed the goo monster inside the seams. Someone shouted on the other side of the communicator, jerking a flinch out of all the male Titans, and Robin yelled into the device, "Now!"

The boys ducked behind the T-car as within the electrical oval, the amalgamating behemoth bulged, holding for a second before exploding outwards. A trio of the creatures' screams deafened the air as muck, rocks, and electricity shot outwards, and Cinderblock and Overload were sent flying in opposite directions. Parts of Plasmus stained the buildings and streets everywhere.

Without waiting for the elements to stop falling from the sky, Beast Boy left the shelter of the T-car and sprinted to the girls. He skidded down next to Raven who was knelt on the ground, Starfire crouched beside and wiping mud out of her green eyes. The shape-shifter clutched Raven's shoulders.

Robin and Cyborg found Starfire as Beast Boy silently asked if the empath was okay. "I'm alright." Raven pulled a face and spat out a glob of gunk. She wiped her mouth. "But that was not an experience I would ever recommend taking part of."

As Beast Boy helped her stand, he noticed the pale human laying in the center of the crater the explosion had created, unconscious. At least that was one monster dealt with. He released Raven cautiously, but she did seem unharmed, even flashing him a faint smile for a moment to settle his anxiety.

Starfire was describing in detail how the pressure from the transformation had twisted Plasmus's insides when the hair on the back of Beast Boy's neck rose. He stiffened. Raven reacted in an instant, throwing her hands out to the side, magic shoving her teammates out of the street's indentation. Beast Boy landed on his feet, already in a crouched position, and sprung forward to snag Raven about the waist with his gorilla arm. He rolled in the air as a green primate, and hit the opposite edge of the dip, steadying his human form once his feet found solid ground. Raven was lowered gently onto the street under his heaving chest. He hadn't transformed that fast in a long time.

A stream of electricity struck the depression less than a second later, sending sparks scampering across the cracked cement nearby. Beast Boy lifted up his shoulder to shield his and Raven's bodies. The center of his back felt slightly singed from where the voltage had almost made contact moments ago.

Someone cried out, and the Titans' heads whipped up at the unfamiliar cry. Overload's bolt had zapped into Plasmus's sleeping body, and the human's mouth and eyes snapped open, contracted with pain. He screamed again, all the Plasmus goo drawing back to his body like a magnet. Behind Overload, Cinderblock rose to his feet, managing something like a grin on his square face.

On the other side of the indention, Robin was hollering and gesturing. "Water! Soak them before they can combine again!"

Raven extended her hand toward the side of the street, the fire hydrant there flying straight up into the air with a burst. Water spewed high into the sky, and a curved shield formed above, guiding the liquid over onto Overload. His smirk contorted into a pained, twisted grimace. Raven didn't relent, crawling to her feet and summoning more water from another fire hydrant. This time Overload screeched, retreating behind Cinderblock who pounded the ground with enormous fists. Raven wavered, but only for a second as Cyborg interrupted with a punch to Cinderblock's face. Another strike knocked the stone behemoth away from Overload, allowing the water in once again. The electrical villain screamed again, and shrank noticeably in size before he jumped into a light post.

Even though he was out of sight, Robin's commands were still audible over Cyborg's pounding. "Raven, Beast Boy! Go after Overload! Starfire, with me! Cyborg-!" The echo of another blow resonated from where Cyborg was dealing with Cinderblock. Raven and Beast Boy sprinted after Overload as Robin and Starfire turned their attention to Plasmus.

Raven tracked Overload's fleeing presence for a few blocks until he retreated inside a building. She and Beast Boy entered cautiously, empathetic abilities alert and pointed ears vigilant. The dark space was rectangular, tall, and gray. A small desk rested beside a pair of double doors that led further inside, and the shadow that shifted behind these doors caught the Titans' attention. Without hesitation, Raven and Beast Boy shoved the doors apart and aimed their attacks. There was a small yelp, and an innocent teenager threw up his hands, cringing terribly.

Raven lowered her shimmering arms, and Beast Boy morphed out of his tiger form. The teenager peeked open an eye. He gasped, in relief this time, and straightened. "Oh, uh, oh… You're the Titans! S-sorry 'bout that." The boy cleared his throat.

"Did you experience an electrical surge in here?" Raven asked, straightforward. "Or did you see anything come through within the last minute?"

"Umm…" The guy scratched the back of his head. "I was kinda in the bathroom, so-."

"Right." Raven brushed past him, closing her eyes as she broadened her senses, searching for Overload. Beast Boy glanced around the new space. They stood on padded black mats a few feet away from the huge oval that occupied most of the room. Rows of empty bleachers surrounded the circle with two closed entrances on either side. Beast Boy straightened in surprise. The ice rink?

"Hey, so, uh-?" The teenager, obviously an employee there, swallowed. "I know you're probably here because of other, uh, superhero reasons, but, since, y'know, you guys were here like a few days ago… In case you wanted to go ice skating, you kinda can't. The rink's, uh, closed."

If Raven was unaware that the building was the same ice skating rink they'd visited earlier that week, she did a good job of hiding it. "Why?"

The poor employee looked nervous having two Titans in the same room as him. Beast Boy reasoned that he would've been too had he almost been attacked by a couple of his teammates. "Well we didn't have the electricity to keep this place cold enough, and the ice melted. Doesn't really matter though; it was all scratched up anyway, like a bear was walking all over it or something."

"Imagine that."

Beast Boy hid his blush. Raven had a hint of amusement in her tone.

The teenager shoved his hands into his jean pockets. "Yeah… Sorry… But, y'know, I guess if you wanna go swimming in it, go ahead. I can't guarantee it'll be much fun though."

"We're here on other business." Raven sounded emotionless now, and her hood lifted above her head. "Does this building have a basement?"

"Um, maybe?" He acted surprised. "There's a big janitor closet sorta storage area thing that's under us. It's been locked up ever since the ice melted though."

"You have the keys."

The kid nodded and ran out, reappearing a few moments later with a lonely key in his hand. He placed it in Raven's palm without question. "The entrance is over there. It locks by itself if you close it, so don't, um, lose the keys. And just, uh, give it back when you're done please? My boss would probably understand, but… y'know…"

Raven regarded him for a moment. "Take the rest of the day off."

The teenager stared at her before jumping in understanding. "Oh! Uh, yeah, that sounds… like a good idea. I'll just do that, just in case. Not like anyone else is gonna drop by or anything. No one would know I'm not here. I mean, aside from you guys." Realizing he was rambling, the employee stumbled through the exit.

Raven exchanged a look with Beast Boy which he grinned at. She almost returned a smile, but then moved toward the door to the basement.

The Titans were greeted by a short set of stairs that led into a long empty hallway. Around the left turn at the end was another metal door, this one slightly ajar. Beast Boy found a light switch inside, and a bare bulb lit up the tiny room, scaring a few black flies into flight. Bigger than the average janitor's closet but still quite small, Raven and Beast Boy could see all four corners if they stood in the center under the hanging light source. The high ceiling and walls were cast with shadows, and the floor slanted slightly toward the exit. Pipes lined the walls, and mops, buckets, and various cleaning items were leaned or stacked on plastic storage tables.

"He's here… somewhere." Raven focused, dipping her head as she concentrated. Beast Boy kept his back to hers, watching for any movement. The only sound his sharp ears could detect came from the quiet sloshing in the water rink above and the hum of many electrical currents. The space was much too cramped for his taste. Even as shrunk down as Overload was thanks to his earlier shower, there wouldn't be too much room to dodge anything should it come to a fist fight. But that must've been why Overload chose to hide in the dark storage room.

Wait. Why was the lightbulb working if there wasn't any electricity?

All thought was knocked from his mind as an excruciating pain struck the back of Beast Boy's neck. He tried to shout as he fell, but landed on his stomach with only a gasp as air rushed out of his chest. Another shock struck him, and his body refused to respond to his commands as more electricity coursed through his muscles. The vague smell of burnt hair stung his nose. Through his tear-blurred vision, an overwhelming blob of white filled up the space above him.

Abruptly the brightness vanished, and the extraordinary hurt with it, leaving Beast Boy limply staring at the wall on his side. Hands clutched his upper arm for a brief moment, and then were gone.

The poundings of a fight were audible from behind him, and he strained to hear over the abnormally wild pulsing in his ears. Someone shouted, but they sounded miles away. Beast Boy drew in a breath, stinging his throat. His chest's rawness had to be from his attempts to scream. His eyes weren't shut, but a tunnel was closing in around him rapidly. Noise taunted the Titan as his vision darkened. He wasn't unconscious… But it would be easy… And he couldn't… see… or move…

A clear scream cut through everything, and Beast Boy's body jerked. He pried his eyelids open, finding that his sight was returning, and, with it, he noticed the walls flashing white. Ugh… How long had his eyes been closed…? A few seconds or minutes? The first made more sense, but time was difficult to judge when everything hurt.

The cry continued, sending a shudder through Beast Boy's stomach. R-Raven. Where-?

His stiff bones jolted when he tried to move them, but he managed to roll over nevertheless. The one lonely lightbulb in the room was shattered all over the floor, but Overload's blinding body made up for the lack of light. His back was to the shape-shifter, electrical tendrils trapping Raven to the floor. Her arms were pinned to the cement on either side with Overload's electricity, and her back arched in pain as he sent another surge through her veins. Her shouts wavered for a second as she tried to inhale, but Overload wouldn't give her a moment's rest.

Beast Boy staggered toward them, but his muscles could only manage a couple steps before giving out on him. The cloth in his gloves wrinkled around his fist. What could he do? There was no way for him to attack Overload, not with his powers, and there wasn't any liquid within reach that could help Raven in time before-. He gasped, trying to think while the entirety of his body throbbed and his vision swam like he was underwater.

An idea sprang into Beast Boy's mind, and before he could question it, forced his feet to support him. Bracing himself against the wall, the boy stumbled toward the door. A violent flinch plummeted down his spine as Raven's unceasing scream burned in his ears, and he nearly fell on the handle. He had to move faster! She was depending on him! With a regretful glance at Raven, Beast Boy fell out and slammed the door shut behind him, the latch clicking loudly.

The normally easy task of running proved as difficult as if his body was conspiring against him. He felt rigid and sore like when he finished one of Robin's required workout sessions. The hallway stretched on forever, and the stairs were no better. A mat slid out from under his feet once he reached the top, but Beast Boy managed to catch himself on the edge of the ice rink. All he took was a moment to clear his head, and his heart practically stopped. Raven wasn't screaming anymore.

His arm slipped, dropping the Titan inside the freezing water with a splash and an intake of breath. For a second, the room was completely silent. A single drop of water slid off of one side of the rink and tapped the cement. And then a giant T-Rex rose out of the pool, soaking the floor, walls, and ceiling, and stomped one enormous clawed foot into the ground. The bottom of the ice rink cracked apart with the blow, and the green dinosaur vanished into a boy as the cold water poured into the basement below. A shrill, electronic shriek sounded in surprise before drowning into a gurgle.

Beast Boy surfaced under the waterfall, submerging again seconds later as the fluid shoved him back under. He crawled along the bottom and found air a few feet away from the downpour. The storage had already risen above his waist and was filling fast. A light flashed at him by the locked door. Overload's struggling form thrashed under the torrent, and the red chip shot Beast Boy the most hateful glare before a wave diminished his size further. Another surge of water crashed into the villain, this one colored with a flutter of purple. Beast Boy's eyes widened, and, holding his breath, ducked under the surface.

The current from the water pulled him straight to his goal, and, as he slithered over the cement, Raven's cloak brushed his hand. Through squinted eyes, Beast Boy spotted a pale arm sticking out from somewhere within the billowed cloth, and he grabbed hold. She drifted into him without any resistance, and Beast Boy kicked off of the floor, clutching her to his chest. The water pouring in from above shoved him backwards the moment they emerged, the door's knob sticking him in the lower back. How had the basement filled so fast? One of the plastic storage tables bumped along the wall to his left, and Beast Boy managed to drag Raven and himself up onto it.

The table sank an inch or two under their weight, but the Titans had worse problems than getting their shoes wet. Beast Boy immediately laid Raven out horizontally, unsticking the hair from her face, ripping his glove off, and feeling for her breath. A moment of terror froze time when Beast Boy detected none, but then a weak inhalation lifted her chest. Her lips parted in a sigh. The changeling's shoulders slackened. She was waterlogged and unconscious, but she was alive. Beast Boy released the breath he'd been holding with a watery cough.

Their little boat rocked, and the ceiling smacked Beast Boy's head. Ducking and wheezing into his hand, the Titan turned his attention toward the cascade. The room wouldn't be able to contain the entire contents of the melted ice rink. Water was leaking out under the basement door, bubbling up beside the Titans' raft, but not nearly fast enough. They'd be underwater soon, Beast Boy realized with another rough exhale. The air tore at his throat, and the boy wrapped his fingers around his neck. He didn't have time to fight another coughing attack; there were more important things at stake here than his own pain. His body jerked with another gasp.

Green eyes darting to the submerged, bolted door, Beast Boy formulated a quick plan and dove into the water, transforming in midair. Ripples bounced above him, and Beast Boy swam onto the other side of the room. Pausing for only a moment on the opposite side of the basement, the furious great green shark spun around and then jetted forward straight into the door. The thing dented on impact and shot off its hinges into the wall, sending a flush of water flying out of the storage room with it. Water flowed out into the long hallway along with the red rectangle that was Overload. The soaked chip hit the stairs and wedged itself under the door there.

Rubbing the red spot on his forehead, Beast Boy waded through the cold, waist-deep water back into the large janitor's closet. Ramming into metal doors headfirst was something he would have to put on his list of effective-but-concussion-worthy ideas. He ran his hands over his arms, inhaling and exhaling in a quivering breath. The cough that had claimed him before had vanished. Apparently transforming into an animal with gills rather than lungs fixed coughing attacks. That would've been nice to know several days ago.

The last few drops of ice water fell through the hole in the ceiling into the center of the room, sending tiny waves brushing against his ankles. That employee was going to have a fun time explaining the flooding problem to his boss. Did Raven even have his key anymore?

Beast Boy's attention returned to the girl resting on the plastic table, surrounded by pails, mops, and other various cleaning items. Stepping through the liquid, Beast Boy carefully pulled her off of the surface and lowered her onto the floor. He knelt down to give her head somewhere to rest, and finally allowed himself the time to take in her entire appearance.

Raven's forearms each had a deep, blistering burns wrapped around the skin from where Overload had pinned her down, and her right ankle bore a similar mark. Beast Boy's ears twitched, and he rested his hand on her chest. Her heart fluttered fast -too fast- under his palm. Being electrocuted could do that to someone. But with each exhalation, her pulse calmed a little more, and then Beast Boy could breathe easier too. Raven's head shifted somewhat. A sliver of indigo orbs shone up at the green Titan.

The empath's arms twitched, and her shoulders copied the motion as the scalding pain in her burnt arms alerted her to her injuries. She took a moment to compose herself. Beast Boy smiled at her when she met his eyes once more, and her mouth moved like she wanted to return the expression, but didn't have the energy to do so.

The bubbles in his stomach surfaced again, but Beast Boy knew exactly what he was doing as he pressed his ungloved thumb to his lips. This time Raven didn't look surprised or confused, just briefly closed her eyes when he drew his fingertip across her cheek.

She shivered. He did too. He'd forgotten they were kneeling in ice cold water for a moment there.

* * *

After retrieving Overload from his stuck position under the door, and wrapping the villain in one of the rubber mats from around the destroyed ice rink, Raven and Beast Boy sat down against the outside of the building. They rested with their backs on the brick wall, exhausted. Overload spat out the occasional insult or threat, but he too sounded drained, before long lapsing into silence as well.

A vehicle rumbled around the corner, and a dirty, brown car pulled up to the curb in front of the Titans. The door unlatched with a sticky sound like the stretching of tar, eventually popping open after a long effort. The windows were almost entirely covered in muck, and the rotating windshield wipers had no effect.

Cyborg stepped out and glanced back at his car, folding his arms with a disappointed sigh. Aside from a few scuffs in his armor, the Titan appeared undamaged. "No matter how many times we fight Plasmus, this always seems to happen." He turned to Raven and Beast Boy with a relieved expression. "But hey, glad to see you two are okay. Almost was scared you couldn't handle Overload." They all ignored a degrading comment from said villain. "Rob and Star are takin' care of givin' the police Plasmus and Cinderblock. They did pretty well in kickin' Plasmus's butt together. Had some close calls, but looks like they weren't the only ones." There was a question in there somewhere.

Raven didn't look up to talking quite yet, and so Beast Boy reached for his pad of paper. The entire thing was thoroughly soaked, and he was grateful this book wasn't the large sketchpad he drew pictures in. After accidentally ripping some of the wet paper with his pen, Beast Boy managed a message.

' _How'd fighting Cinderblock go?'_

Cyborg smirked, cracking his knuckles, and remarked, "No one gets away with hurtin' my best bud without gettin' the consequences comin' to him." Suddenly Robin's decision to send Cyborg after Cinderblock made an immense amount of was grinning like a shark. Which reminded Beast Boy…

Cyborg wiped a dab of mud off the car door. "And you guys?"

Beast Boy smiled faintly. _'You were right. Sharks are pretty awesome, dude.'_

A sharp crackle made everyone jump in surprise, and a static buzz fizzled in the air for a moment before a lamppost nearby abruptly shone with light. Florescent advertisements and street lights blinked to life on either side of the road, and suddenly Beast Boy could hear the humming of electricity within the city again. Cyborg breathed out through his nose in amusement, humming. "Well, would you look at that."

Beast Boy's shoulders shook with a silent laugh, and Raven smiled. It seemed fitting that the city had its power back, now that after all they'd been through was finally done.

The green boy pushed himself to stand, helping Raven do the same once he felt steady on his feet. Cyborg pried open the back door for them. "So tell me," he grunted, fighting the suction that Plasmus's goop created, "how on earth are you guys so soaked? I thought this was an ice rink, not a swimmin' pool!" The T-car's door snapped out of the gunk's hold.

Beast Boy rolled his eyes, lowering Raven until she was balanced on the edge of the back seat, and waited for her to answer. He didn't have enough undamaged paper to explain the details of the fight. Cyborg addressed her when she didn't respond right away, flicking the sludge off of his fingers. "Raven? Feel like sharin'?"

Raven straightened as if she hadn't been listening, and then lifted an eyebrow at him. Cyborg repeated the question, and the corners of the empath's mouth shifted. She shook her head at him, brushing her fingertips over her neckline. Beast Boy stiffened, recognizing the action as it had become all too familiar to him over the last several days. Raven looked at him in confirmation, and Beast Boy knew that he was right:

Raven couldn't speak.


	9. Silence Speaks Louder Than Words

It wasn't that Raven _couldn't_ talk; it was more that she _shouldn't_. When Overload had pinned her down, the Titan had been screaming at the top of her lungs for several minutes straight, and the result was an extremely sore throat, worse than if she had lost her voice shouting at a concert or sports game; not that Raven would ever consider involving herself in either of those events. The problem would go away after a few days of silence, but in the meantime, the empath would have to restrain any urges to speak unless she learned how to communicate through scratchy words and wincing. Beast Boy thought the whole thing was a little humorously ironic, not that he mentioned it to Raven. Cyborg had already done that, and Raven had responded by burying him in pillows.

Thanks to Raven's new health developments, Beast Boy's healing sessions were once again put on hold. But he didn't mind. After all, he was having a blast teaching Raven all the wonders that came with losing one's voice.

The two mute Titans currently sat in the main room, drinking separate cups of tea while the television played in the background. One day had passed since the resolve of the Ternion threat. Robin was filling out paperwork that came with the finished fight, Starfire was cuddling Silkie in her room, and Cyborg was cleaning Plasmus parts off of the T-car. Again. The team had expressed their concern for Raven, but the empath brushed them all off. She didn't talk nearly as much as the rest of them did, and so she didn't see the problem with complete silence for a day or so.

Raven's cloak brushed against her arm, and the girl swallowed her tea a little faster than necessary. She lowered the mug onto her lap, and Beast Boy caught sight of the peeling scabs on each of her forearms. Raven's magic worked powerful stuff, but even she had problems healing third degree burns in one go. Beast Boy picked a bottle of ointment off of the sofa's table, waving the container at her, and she nodded with a sigh. She hid her grimace by sipping more tea.

When the team had returned home, Raven insisted she heal the unnoticed burns on Beast Boy's back, despite her own injuries being so terrible. During this time Beast Boy discovered how much more difficult arguing with Raven was when neither of them could talk, and the only way to communicate was through glares. And Raven had long since mastered the perfect glower while Beast Boy was merely an apprentice.

They'd compromised. He forced her to mend her own sores first, and learned how he'd gotten his burns while she worked. Overload had hidden himself in the basement's light bulb -something Raven noticeably reprimanded herself for not spotting- and struck Beast Boy from behind. The villain had knocked Beast Boy down and electrocuted him before Raven became a distraction. She'd explained –all in writing- how Overload had then turned and trapped her. She'd blacked out sometime after that.

A blob of white cream squeezed out of the tube onto Beast Boy's fingertip, and Raven faced him on the sofa, crossing her legs with her arms stretched out. Her teammate grasped her left wrist lightly, tugging her closer, and then started applying the medicine. He managed to be quite tender in his application, although Raven still couldn't hold back the occasional flinch. Beast Boy apologized each time with his emotions or the brush of his thumb over her pulse. Soon enough he'd finished one arm and moved toward the next.

How Beast Boy had managed to keep from complaining, even a little, about his damaged vocal cords, Raven wasn't sure. Her own throat burned something fierce, and it was merely sore from overuse. Before Beast Boy could begin working on her right forearm, she held up a hand. The green boy tilted his head, and then nodded in understanding when Raven lifted her steaming cup. He copied her, drinking from his own heated mug.

Raven twitched an eyebrow at his drink. When had he started enjoying tea?

Well, he wouldn't say he enjoyed it; more along the lines of appreciated it. Beast Boy grinned at her over the rim.

She rolled her eyes, inhaling the warm vapor rising from her brew. He never would acknowledge that he liked something thanks to her, not when he'd originally hated it.

Beast Boy blew the heat away from the brown liquid and placed his cup onto the table. Of course he would never admit it; that would mean the game was over, and how he loved playing with Raven.

The doors to the ops room hissed apart.

"Man, I don't think the tower's ever been this quiet!" Cyborg's voice echoed in the space, cutting through the white noise provided by the television. He fixed his sights on Raven. "I didn't realize how loud you were until now! It's like I'm goin' deaf it's so quiet in here!"

The robotic Titan was treated with another pillow to the face, followed immediately by the one Beast Boy threw after Raven's toss. Cyborg snorted, attempting to appear irritated while neither of the teens he was convincing believed the façade.

"Well, 'scuse me for trying to break the awkward silence!" Cyborg stepped over the cushions surrounding him, heading into the kitchen.

Raven and Beast Boy exchanged glances. Whoever said the silence was awkward?

Cyborg didn't catch on. He reached into the back of a cabinet and withdrew a small cylinder. "So I was thinkin' that in celebration of our victory the other day, I should whip up a special dinner for everyone tonight! I just found the greatest recipe online, and I've been hopin' to try it out. Whatcha think, BB?" Cyborg tossed the container over the sofa to Beast Boy who managed to catch it. His face lit up upon reading the label, and, covering a laugh, showed it to Raven.

Cyborg smirked, snatching the canister out of the air when the empath threw it back. "I'm thinkin' I could make some soup outta that coconut milk! The recipe called for chicken, but I could just exempt that for ya, BB." The bigger Titan grinned.

Beast Boy replied with two thumbs up, and Raven smiled, hiding the curve of her lips behind her cup again. Naturally Cyborg just had to have the last mention of their whole coconuts-verses-sharks conversation. Not that Beast Boy was complaining if it got him supper.

Beast Boy was watching her as if he knew what she was thinking. He probably did. The empath extended her right arm.

As the skin damage there was massaged with salve, Cyborg kept talking. Whether his conversation was supposed to be with himself or the other Titans wasn't altogether clear. "So, it occurred to me while I was cleanin' off my baby again -thanks to that sewage storm called Plasmus- that when ya'll were searchin' the ice rink for Overload, he'd been hidin' in the lightbulb, right?"

Raven moved her head in the smallest of motions to agree with him. Her eyes remained on Beast Boy's hands as he carefully applied the while lotion. How he could be so gentle was beyond her.

"And I started thinkin' how, y'know, you two were standin' in the middle of the room, all back-to-back and lookin' out for Overload when he was just campin' out above you…"

A faint glare indented Raven's brow, but she smoothed out her expression almost immediately.

"And I thought, seein' how BB has a special talent for makin' you angry, Raven…"

So Cyborg _was_ talking to them. Beast Boy lifted his head.

"Well, Raven, you do have a tendency to break lightbulbs and such with your powers when you're mad. I'd know; I'm the one who changes the bulbs around the tower." He hummed, switching on the oven top, unaware of the Raven's frown digging into his back. "Maybe BB, all ya had to do was make Raven angry, and _poof_! You'd have found Overload, just like that!" Cyborg snapped his fingers, peeking over his shoulder at the pair and grinning.

Beast Boy smiled back with an expression of humor, and Raven peered across at her green teammate. His emotions, although laced with amusement, rang mainly of dimmed concern. He could tell Raven didn't like thinking about how she'd overlooked Overload's hiding place, and she felt a brush of sympathy for her. Beast Boy's face had entertained Cyborg the entire time that Raven was probing through his emotions, and, after a quick chuckle, Cyborg's attention returned to his dinner preparations.

She knew the robotic Titan wasn't aware of her disappointment concerning Overload; Raven kept her emotions hidden too well for that, and she didn't take offense to Cyborg's comment. Beast Boy's understanding felt nice though. And strange. But she welcomed it nevertheless, returning the boy's glance with a softer glimpse. He shifted, smiling more, and ran his fingers in circles over the peeling on her forearm.

Cyborg was humming under his breath, losing himself in his work. Raven appreciated the lack of vocal conversation and returned to her mute exchange with Beast Boy. Her burns had been thoroughly attended to, and the tube of balm returned to the couch's table for but a moment, being snatched up into Raven's hand seconds later. She folded her arms. Beast Boy didn't get to pretend his back was fine when Overload had damaged him too.

The empath pointed at his uniform.

Beast Boy pouted.

Raven quirked an eyebrow.

Off went the shirt.

Beast Boy waggled his eyebrows at her, and Raven kicked at him with her foot. No, she did not ask for him to remove his shirt just so she could check him out. And she certainly wasn't now. The girl motioned at him, and Beast Boy complied to her command, scooting around until his shoulder blades faced her. Raven wiped balm onto two fingers and began rubbing the burnt skin on his upper back.

Beast Boy closed his eyes briefly as Raven's fingertips kneaded the base of his neck. A sporadic sting of pain jerked jolts out of him every once in a while, but Raven's cool fingers would adjust accordingly. His eyelashes flickered, allowing a glimmer past. Nothing suggested that Raven might be healing him without his permission. She'd attempted to do it once already when they spent the night in the infirmary, and Beast Boy suspected she'd try it again. She needed to regain her strength to heal herself first. It was bad enough she couldn't fix her throat with the third degree burns taking up all her attention and energy; Beast Boy wasn't about to have her extend the period of time she couldn't speak by letting her mend his damages.

He twitched an ear toward the kitchen where Cyborg's whistling continued without distraction. He hadn't noticed their new position, not that it really mattered if he did. Actually, watching Cyborg squirm under Raven's mother-of-all-glares would be pretty hilarious if he did decide to say anything about Beast Boy's lack of a shirt.

Oh, Raven was done.

Beast Boy rotated around to see her screwing the cap on the bottle, and the green boy grabbed his shirt off of the couch table, knocking his drawing pad off in the process. As he wiggled into the top of his uniform, Raven peered over the edge of the sofa toward the open pages. A rough sketch of a cheetah glared back at her, uncolored and unshaded but surprisingly proportionate. In the right hand corner was a tiny, virtually unnoticeable stick figure. Beast Boy leaned sideways, grasping about a few times before he gripped the book and pulled it up. Closing the sketchpad, he rubbed the back of his neck before, with a wince, remembered not to touch there.

A pale hand reached forward, placing a slender finger on the book, and Beast Boy looked at Raven. She tilted her head subtly, asking permission, and found the pad sliding toward her. With a faint smile, Raven moved it into her lap and lifted the cover.

The shark she'd seen several days ago was waiting below, posed with enormous teeth fixed in a terrifying smile. She flipped onto the next sheet. A fluffy wolf howled at the moon. A miniature stick figure once again occupied the bottom corner. Raven reversed to the previous page, and sure enough, another stick figure stood in the same place.

The girl felt proud embarrassment swimming off of Beast Boy who was bearing a light blush, wriggling his fingers or bouncing his legs as he focused on the pages. Raven's mouth curled up, and she continued onwards.

Several animals decorated the following sheets of paper: a bear, an eagle, a starfish, a cow, a robin, a raven… And then abruptly the pictures switched to the Titans. These illustrations were little more than outlines, drawn hastily in attempts to get something down before the person moved. Most were set in the main room. Several attempts at Cyborg were of him playing video games on the couch, and Raven smirked at the familiar sight of her teammate sticking his tongue out in concentration. Silkie squirmed his way onto the succeeding page. All throughout the works, small stick figures were perched in the corner of the page.

Raven rolled her fingers across the paper, pausing at the edge. One look at Beast Boy told her that her sudden epiphany was spot on, and she ran her thumb over the corners. Abruptly the stick person lived, walking along animatedly for a few steps before meeting someone holding a mug. The figure sipped from the cup and then spat it out on the first stick man. Raven ran out of pages.

She leaned on her elbow and blinked twice. Beast Boy's blush had developed further, but he was also smirking, and, rolling her eyes at him, Raven returned to examining his artwork. Silkie made several more appearances, and one impressive picture of Starfire and Robin chatting in the kitchen made Raven pause. The page underneath was blank, and, save for the last couple that were used for deciphering her mirror's color code, so were the rest.

He was surprisingly talented, and he'd also apparently had way too much time on his hands as of late. Beast Boy sat on his legs, chewing his bottom lip, and Raven returned the sketchbook to him. He raised his eyebrows at her.

She smiled in return, and his nervousness lulled with an easy grin. There was one question she had though… Raven pointed to herself and then to the pad. All the other Titans had taken up at least one page, and even Silkie had a turn –several really- so why did Raven not get one?

A shy expression flooded Beast Boy's face, and he massaged his shoulder. Whenever Raven entered the same room as him, he'd get distracted into spending time with her instead of drawing. Either that or her hood was always up, and he'd seen Raven's cloak on so many occasions that he could probably sketch it from memory by now. But he wanted to focus on the beauty within.

Besides, if Beast Boy was going to draw Raven, he wanted to do a good job. The green teenager flicked through the pages, landing on a blank sheet. Thankfully a pencil was within reach, and Beast Boy held the utensil up toward Raven, ears quivering. The empath dipped her head, slanting backwards somewhat as Beast Boy adjusted himself and his book.

He breathed out, glancing up at Raven who was… smiling for him. Not the brief or hidden flicker that she'd revealed more frequently to him as of late, but a full, real, open smile with a glimmer of white teeth shining behind her lips. Beast Boy's face lit up in flame hotter than the electricity Overload had struck him with.

Her smile melted into an amused smirk. Now she wasn't going to hold that expression forever; if he took too long, he'd have to settle with her usual blank stare. Beast Boy realized that, and, making an interesting sound like he was trying to clear his throat, started to draw.

* * *

Despite how terrible Beast Boy thought his illustration had turned out, Raven had apparently liked it. She'd given the picture a silent, impressed nod when he'd shown her, and then rewarded him with yet another concealed smile that gave Beast Boy bubbles in his stomach. And then of course Cyborg had decided to interrupt with the announcement that dinner was ready.

During supper, Starfire forgot on multiple occasions that Raven couldn't respond, and would begin to address the empath before apologizing for her memory. Cyborg kept joking about coconut milk, and Robin would occasionally glance at Raven as if to check that she was feeling alright, which naturally she was. Beast Boy just grinned the whole time.

And so the dinners succeeding that one proceeded similarly until Raven's voice returned on her fourth day of silence. Immediately afterwards, Beast Boy's daily healing sessions resumed. There was little difference in the tower after that; although sometimes the Titans were surprised to enter a room they'd thought was empty only to find Raven and Beast Boy sitting there together in complete, comfortable silence.

On the morning of the week-iversary of Raven's throat healing, Beast Boy strolled into the ops room in an extraordinarily good mood. Nearby, Cyborg was crouched on the edge of the couch, racing virtual cars against Robin while Starfire fixed herself a sandwich that oozed mustard. She smiled in greeting.

"Good morning, friend Beast Boy!"

Beast Boy grinned back. "Morning, Star!"

Starfire's eyes lit up, and she inhaled a huge breath. A loud crash signaled someone's utter destruction on the television, and Cyborg whirled around with an even brighter face than Starfire's, uncaring about the explosion on the screen behind him. He stared at Beast Boy intensely. "Yo, man, tell me I'm imaginin' things, but I think I just heard a mouse squeakin' in here!"

Beast Boy beamed, hopping down the stairs. "I think you heard right, dude!"

Cyborg's loud laugh echoed throughout the room as he bounded over the sofa to tackle his little friend a bear hug. Starfire swooped in the second Cyborg released Beast Boy, who was grateful Robin didn't follow the other two's example as he was gasping for breath by the time Starfire let go.

While Robin rounded the couch, Cyborg held out his arms toward Beast Boy. "So how's it feel bein' able to revert back to your talkative li'l annoyin' self?"

"Pretty good, Cy, pretty good," Beast Boy answered, still enjoying the sound of his own voice. It was amazing how much he'd missed the pubescent pitch that came out of his mouth sometimes.

Robin smiled, squeezing Beast Boy's shoulder. "Congratulations, Beast Boy."

"Well, thanks Rob, but it's not like I did anything. Rae's the one who healed me up!" Beast Boy's voice cracked, and his eyebrows shot up, looking like he'd just heard the most beautiful sound in the world. He held his head high, excitement twitching his ears. "Oh yeah, I was gonna ask; anyone know where Raven is? She, ah, doesn't exactly know yet."

"She doesn't know?" Robin repeated. "How?"

"Yeah, I figured you'd have gone runnin' to tell her the second you started talkin' again!"

Robin elbowed Cyborg with a frown. "No, how didn't Raven sense that your vocal cords were mended? I assumed she healed you last night."

"Well, y'know." Beast Boy shrugged his shoulders, hooking his thumbs on his silver belt. "She'd done it so many times that we kinda stopped checking if I could talk after she was done. Figured it'd happen when it'd happen! And it finally did!" Beast Boy felt the tips of his ears warming. "So anyone know where she is?"

Starfire answered him, her eyes shining. "I believe Raven is still in her room, friend Beast Boy."

"Thanks!" He sprung up the stairs, pausing in front of the door. "Talk to you guys later!"

Cyborg folded his arms with a big grin as Beast Boy jogged out. "I wonder how long he's been waitin' to say that?"

"Probably ever since he realized he couldn't speak." Robin approached the television where he'd paused their game system. "You up for another round, Cyborg?"

Starfire jumped in before the big Titan could answer. "But friends, I am wishing to know how friend Raven will react to the return of Beast Boy's voice!"

"Probably won't." Cyborg chuckled. "But I can imagine her bein' secretly happy for BB, just like the rest of us, but at the same time she'll be all horrified on the inside. I mean, come on, the tower ain't gonna be quiet again for a long time now."

"Indeed friend Cyborg, I agree that our home will be filled with much of the noise quite soon!"

Robin's mask shifted as he lifted an eyebrow. "I'm not so sure." He'd observed Beast Boy's smooth adaptation into communicating without a voice, and noticed how content he had looked when sitting in a completely silent room with Raven. The Titans' leader rotated toward Cyborg and Starfire, but they weren't paying attention.

"Pshh." Cyborg waved his hand in dismissal, leaning against the back of the sofa. "Much noise? My li'l bud is the loudest kid I know! Other than myself, I mean. But the kid's a party animal! 'Sides, didn't ya see how excited he was? I'm sure we'll be hearin' his tellin' Raven from here!"

Starfire seemed to agree with him. She threaded her fingers together, sitting down on a chair in the kitchen and smiling at Cyborg. "Perhaps we can invite friend Raven to this party of the animals?"

"There's not going to be a party," Robin stated.

No one heard him. Cyborg laughed in a deep voice. "Sure, I'd totally be up for a celebration!"

"It was a figure of speech," Robin protested.

"Who else shall I invite? Do we need the cake?"

Robin pinched the bridge of his nose, and Cyborg chuckled again. "Sure, Star, why not?! But first!" The robotic Titan clapped his hands together forcefully. "I feel like I'm up for kickin' someone's butt in another race! Whatcha say, Rob?"

Facing the television, Robin exhaled under his breath and snatched a controller into his hand. "You guys never listen to me."

* * *

Beast Boy jogged down the hallway, a flurry of exhilaration stirring his stomach. He laughed just to hear the sound of his beloved voice, widening his grin until his mouth hurt. Not that he cared about that.

He'd woken up that morning as he typically did, sprawled out on the top of his bunk bed with limbs strewn in all directions and blankets entangled about the mattress. As usual, he almost knocked his head on the ceiling when he sat up, and then dangled his feet over the side as a yawn escaped his mouth. The boy had almost fallen off the edge when a tiny squeak escaped with his intake of air. After a quick, "testing one, two, three," he'd thrown on a new uniform and dashed down to the ops room to show off his voice.

And now Raven's room was just around the corner. Beast Boy slowed to a hurrying stride. The team had reacted exactly how he'd hoped. A small part of him had been nervous that they'd feel disappointed he could annoy them again with his talking, although the sensible section of his brain told him that was ridiculous. But then that tiny anxious voice returned to whimper in the back of his mind. What if Raven didn't want to hear his voice anymore? He'd certainly bothered her enough with it in the past.

Shaking his head, Beast Boy banished the thought and found himself in front of Raven's sleeping quarters. With barely a second of hesitation, he rapped his knuckles against the metal nameplate and then grasped his hands together behind his back, bouncing on his toes. After an eternity, the door slid open.

Raven suspected something, that much was obvious by her narrowed eyes. His fain emotions were probably screaming thrilled anticipation at her, but, without knowing the reason to his enthusiasm, all she could do was go along with it. Her indigo eyes shone within the darkness of her hood. "Yes?"

The grin on his mouth was starting to ache, but Beast Boy couldn't care less. "Hi Raven!"

So he could've been more elegant. After all, those were the first words he'd spoken aloud to Raven in several weeks, but he really only wanted to see her reaction.

At first, Raven didn't move other than to blink. Then she lowered her hood, the faintest hint of undeniable emotion in her voice, but her face was as blank as a slate. "Hello."

Beast Boy's heart pounded in his ears, but his smile had yet to waver. "So… Uh, yeah, I can talk now! Cool, huh?"

Raven shifted, her lips twitching. "Congratulations." Her gaze darted to his throat.

He caught on. "Oh, right, I guess last night when you were healing me, we didn't check to see if I could talk or not, and this morning I yawned and then, well-," –the boy threw his hands out above his head- "ta-da!" His arms returned to his sides, clutching both of his wrists behind his back.

"Did you tell the others yet?"

Beast Boy nodded. "Yeah, and then I ran over here to tell you. Figured you'd wanna know…" He swallowed, his happy expression flickering. "You-you did want to know, right? Unless you didn't… Or if you were meditating, 'cause then, I'm sorry if I interrupted you. I was just, uh, really excited…"

"You didn't interrupt me."

"Right, well, I'm probably bugging you now, huh?" Beast Boy gestured down the hall with one hand. "I'll just be going then so I'm not talking your ear off anymore."

"Beast Boy." Raven halted his retreat before it began, stepping forward so she was standing outside of her doorway.

She smiled.

The uncomfortable sting in his throat lessened, and Beast Boy faced her once more. His relieved smirk reached his eyes as he rubbed his arm. "Thanks for healing me, Rae."

Raven dipped her head an inch. "It's good to hear your voice again."

"It is?" He laughed, scratching at his neck. "Phew, for a moment there I thought I was the only one who thought that!"

Raven had visibly relaxed, and Beast Boy knew she was happy he was able to speak again. Any of his remaining apprehension disappeared, and, judging by the way Raven's shoulders sank, she could feel his emotions settling too. His feelings reached out for her, and he opened his arms with a flushed grin. "So… celebratory hug? Or a thank you hug, y'know, if you like that better."

Her suspicion returned, but after a glimpse into Beast Boy's emotions, Raven's cheeks reddened. She managed a sigh. "You aren't going to let me say no, are you?"

He paused, actually thinking. "Well… I suppose… if you really don't wanna… you don't hafta…"

He was offering her a way out? Raven inhaled, watching that beaming green face in front of her before she moved forward.

And she wasn't going to escape while she still could?

Beast Boy wrapped his arms around her, almost unable to believe Raven was still there instead of hiding in her bedroom like how he'd expected their conversation to end. He peeked over her shoulder and past the crack in her open door. A glimmer of light shone above the mirror resting on her dresser.

Beast Boy drew back, Raven's hand slipping from his neck and reminding him how she'd healed the burns there several days ago. The green Titan suddenly smiled at Raven. "Hey, you wanna go out flying with me? I mean, not like the last time we did when it ended in total disaster, but since I just got my voice back, and it's such a great day today, I figure why not spend it by flying around and not talking?!"

Raven masked her surprise so well that Beast Boy wouldn't have noticed it a few weeks ago. Her index finger rubbed her thumb, barely visible behind her cloak. "If you insist."

Gloved fingers wrapped around her forearms where her blisters had also been healed. "Rae, it's only if you wanna."

She didn't pull away from him. "Then I suppose we should go."

* * *

The residents of Jump City were pretty happy to have their electricity back. Judging by the lack of people outside looking bored or staring at their phones longingly, most everyone was indoors and enjoying their electronics. That was fine with Raven and Beast Boy. They swooped through the park for a long while without running into any adoring fans, and then flew over the same highway where Cinderblock had first attacked them.

Raven gazed at the eagle gliding beside her. At first, she'd assumed that Beast Boy had asked her to come with to dispel any possible fear of flying Cinderblock might've inflicted upon the green Titan. But after some thought, she realized her theory made no sense, and besides, his emotions told another story, one that Raven wasn't sure she was interpreting correctly.

Learning that Beast Boy's vocal cords were restored warmed a weight in her chest, similar to the same way that Beast Boy's joyful exclamations filled her with happiness, or how something bubbled up inside of her like carbonated soda when she heard his laugh again. The bubbles returned when she and Beast Boy landed on the roof of an apartment building. The shape-shifter morphed back into human, grinning at her. "Dude, does it feel good to stretch my wings!" He extended his arms above his head with a deep sigh. "And does it feel good to be able to say that!"

Raven brushed her cloak back. "Even without your voice, you've managed to speak your mind fairly well."

"Just give me a pillow to throw at Cy!" Beast Boy joked. Raven rolled her eyes, and he continued. "But yeah, I mean, I adjusted, but really I gotta thank you for that. Without you, the others probably would've had no idea what was going on inside this thing!" The Titan knocked his fist against his forehead a few times. "Half the time, even I don't know what's going on in there!"

A cloud ghosted past the sinking sun, casting a patch of shade over the Titans. Beast Boy continued talking, both he and Raven aware that he wasn't saying anything important, just enjoying the sound of his own voice.

…Was it Raven's imagination, or was Beast Boy's voice slightly deeper now? He chuckled at something, and his voice lilted, cracking. Raven hid her smirk. Maybe not. The shadows drifted away.

She tuned into what he was saying. "-never actually proved that you couldn't read minds though! I mean, you call it empathy, but how do we know that you're not just reading our minds?!" Beast Boy lifted his eyebrows at her comically.

Raven humored him with her usual sting of sarcasm. "You caught me."

"I knew it!" He pumped his fist, hopping somewhat, and then faced her. "So… what am I thinking right now?"

"That you were correct?"

An exasperated sigh escaped his mouth. "No, Rae, you gotta use that mind reading power! You can't just guess!"

"Hm, sorry."

"Y'know, I don't think you are."

Raven smirked as he inspected her. "How could you tell?"

Tapping his chin for a moment, Beast Boy brightened. "Dude! Maybe I'm the mind reader!"

"That would explain very little."

"True…" He rubbed his hands together, peering up at the sun and realizing with surprise that there was about an hour of light left. They'd been flying for quite a while, which was strange considering he wasn't a bit tired. In the distance below the tower, colorful waves wet the rocky shore. Beast Boy met Raven's eyes. "Guess what I'm thinking now?"

She appeared amused by him, or at least his words. "Hm?"

"I'm thinking we should meet back at the tower." His smile was sincere, but his emotions were lined with a cool, serious tint. The shift of Raven's shoulders meant she was intrigued. "I wanna show you something."

* * *

They regrouped on the rocks down by the shore. Raven had contemplated meditating while she waited since, considering how serene the beautiful waters were, she doubted that falling into a peaceful trance would've taken much concentration. But she'd already meditated earlier that day, and plus, Beast Boy had piqued her curiosity.

Beast Boy's presence left the tower through the roof, and he glided down, clutching something in his talons as he flapped to slow his descent. The boy dropped onto the level rock Raven had chosen as a seat, landed solidly on his sneakers, and then picked up the two objects that had been hanging from his claws.

Raven identified the items he held as her mirror and his drawing pad. As Beast Boy placed the mirror on the flat stone between them, she folded her legs and then murmured her mantra, extending her fingers above the glass. The air warmed with purple and yellow, the colors projecting above the teenagers' heads.

Waiting for him to explain, Raven watched as Beast Boy opened his book and flipped to the back where various colors of the rainbow decorated the pages. Beast Boy lifted his head skywards, focusing on the golden particles dancing overhead, and then back to Raven. He exhaled a chuckle when he realized the colors were extended in a barrier between him and his teammate, and he slid the mirror backwards a few inches so he could see the empath properly. She held his gaze for a few moments before dropping hers to his paper.

Scooting closer so she could see, Beast Boy pointed to the yellow scribbles, the highlighted dust above them, and then to his head. Raven nodded, already aware that yellow corresponded with intelligence and curiosity. Beast Boy leaned to the side, guiding the drawing pad from his lap onto hers, and bumping elbows by accident. Raven ignored the contact, inspecting the paper.

The few colors left unknown to them had been filled in. Green equaled _Brave_ , gray was scribbled in beside _Timid_ , and red next to _Rage_. All the other colors had emotions matching them aside from violet, the color both he and Raven had worked countless hours on to decipher. So he must have figured it out. Is that what he wanted to show her?

Unable to help herself, Raven glimpsed again at the light show shining out of her mirror, and then toward Beast Boy. The lavender shadows jumped in flecks across his face, shifting when he smiled, taking her hand and pressing it against the loop of purple shaded in the center of the sketchbook. Although it was impossible, Raven swore she could feel the circle pulsing against her palm, and the beating transferred to her chest when Beast Boy released her fingers, touching her cheek with his thumb. A soft expression had weakened his brilliant grin, but his eyes remained just as brightly lit.

The yellow faded out of her mirror completely, but Raven knew that was her doing. The one remaining color shone as vibrant violet in the sky, suddenly as clear as day.

Raven's fingertips brushed back on the rough paper, up and across her lips. Her hand reached Beast Boy right before he inhaled as if to say something, but she pressed her thumb over his mouth. She allowed her fingers to drift to the side, sliding across his cheek, and then her arm sank. Beast Boy smiled with a blush, his palm finding the line of her jaw, and then leaned toward her. Raven met him halfway.

Neither noticed how the rich purple deepened above them, nor did they see how the last golden sliver of sun had finally dipped below the horizon. They had no way of knowing that at that very moment, Cyborg, Starfire, and an adverse Robin were busy decorating the ops room to celebrate the restoration of Beast Boy's voice, or that Cyborg was desperately searching for a way to incorporate coconuts or sharks into the party. The single thing that Raven and Beast Boy only, finally knew, was what their persistent violet emotions represented.

Eventually the two drew apart wearing matching shades of scarlet. Beast Boy couldn't seem to stop beaming, not that he was fighting it, and Raven found herself in the same situation. She chewed on her lip to hide her smile.

Beast Boy dipped his head, glancing at her and then up toward the color above. After a moment, Raven followed his eyes, but he was already looking at her again, flushing. The particles overhead shimmered with faint winks of pink and yellow overlaying the violet color.

Raven released her smile, moving her attention back to him. He was asking if he could kiss her again. She answered him mutely, inclining forward so her lips pressed against his, and he silently returned her touch the moment they connected.

It wouldn't be until much later that Raven and Beast Boy realized their entire exchange had transpired without a single word between them. That shouldn't have come as much of a surprise though. After all, considering everything they'd gone through together, their silence now spoke much louder than their words did.

The End

* * *

 **As always, I am compelled to thank everyone for reading this story. I get such wonderful reviews, and so many follows and favorites, and I'm always touched by how encouraging everyone is. Thank you all so much for all the kind comments, I really do appreciate every single constructive criticism, suggestion, and praise you guys throw at me. Silence Speaks Louder Than Words was a pleasure to write.**

 **If you want to read more of my work, I have several other Teen Titans stories on my page, and I also recently posted the first chapter of my newest fanfiction, Taming the Beast, which was voted on by you guys.**

 **Thank you again! I hope you enjoyed the story!**

 **CleoArrow**


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